Too Short A Time With You
by Havah Kinny
Summary: Camp Rock. Shane is fed up with the emotionless pop that Connect 3 has to play and wants to shift styles, but when his attempt to break free lands Nate in danger can Shane and Jason come up with a solution in time to save him? Jason/Nate mild Shane/Mitchi
1. Chapter 1

"No," Shane shook his head. "I'm done with this pop shit, I'm not singing this, there's no fucking way." Shane stood up, glaring at Mr. Larson, the record executive. "There's good music out there, REAL music, and this is not it! When you're finally going to let us sing something good, let me know." Shane threw down the music sheets and lyrics in his hands and walked out of the Pollywog Records conference room. Nate and Jason looked at each other before Nate stood up and walked after Shane. Jason looked at Mr. Larson for a second before catching on and following his band mates.

"Shane," Nate called. "Shane, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you sick of it?" Shane asked, turning around and looking down at Nate. "None of our songs are good Nate, they make us sin TERRIBLE shit…I just don't get it! How do you handle it? I mean Jason I understand, he's a nimrod, but-"

"You don't give him enough credit," Nate sighed and shook his head.

"Ok, well that's not the point," Shane looked Nate in the eyes. "The point is to play real music, isn't it? I know that we said that we would put up with their shit and soon enough we'd be doing our own stuff, but it's been two years and I'm starting to get sick of it…you are too, Nate, don't pretend that you're not."

"I am, but it's worth it! I like the fans, I like getting to play live even if the music isn't great and I love seeing you and Jason all the time…"

"Dudes, what's wrong?" Jason asked, wandering over to Shane and Nate.

"Shane's sick of everything…again." Nate sighed. "You know, ever since you started going out with Mitchie-"

"Hey," Shane glared at Nate. "Do NOT put this on her!"

"Well I wouldn't put it on her if it wasn't her fault!"

"It's NOT her fault!" Shane shook his head. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

"Oh, how sweet," Nate said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "As much as I would like to hear all about-"

"Guys, stop!" Jason put one hand over Nate's mouth and one hand over Shane's. "We're Connect 3, we don't fight! Come on guys, I hate it when you fight!"

"Jason," Nate grabbed Jason's wrist and gently uncovered his own mouth. "We're not fighting, ok? We're arguing, it happens."

"Arguing leads to break up, I don't want to be bandless!"

"Look," Shane narrowed his eyes and began yelling at Jason. "Just because you're parents are getting a divorce doesn't mean-"

"SHANE!" Nate yelled at Shane as Jason's face fell.

"Oh my god, Jason, I am so sorry!" Shane reached out to put his hand on Jason's shoulder, but Jason pulled away. "Jace, I didn't mean that.

"Yes, you did." Jason turned around and walked away, breaking into a run after a few yards.

"Do you know how bad that's got to have hurt him? How could you say that?" Nate shot a nasty glare at Shane before running after Jason. He caught up with his friend in the parking lot, Jason standing by his car, digging his keys out of his pocket. "Jason," Nate put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "He didn't mean to say that Jason, I'm sure that it just slipped out…" Nate took the car keys out of Jason's hands and hugged him. "The divorce isn't your fault Jason, you know that, right?" Nate rubbed Jason's back.

"What if it is my fault?" Jason asked, sniffling. "What if it's because of the band? What if I'm stressing their relationship? And I mean what if my stupidity is just causing extra stress?"

"Jason, you're not stupid!" Nate pulled the hug tighter.

"Yes, I am!" Jason nodded, again sniffling slightly.

"No, you're not." Nate shook his head. "You're just smart in a different way, I've never seen anyone read people as well as you; you just can't get a read on yourself; you can't see all of this great stuff that I see in you." Nate looked at Jason and smiled slightly. "Come on Jace, let me drive you home." Nate moved towards the driver's seat of the car.

"I can drive, it's my car, besides you're too young."

"I've got my permit, no one's going to pull us over. Let me drive you home, come on."

"Fine." Jason sighed and got into the passenger seat while Nate got in the driver's.

"Jason," Nate sighed as he began to drive. "We're not falling apart, ok? I promise you, this isn't like what's going on with your family."

"Shane's always wanting more." Jason sighed. "He wants out."

"No he doesn't." Nate shook his head. "If Shane wanted out, he'd tell us straight up, he's a forward kind of guy."

"Yeah."

"Ok, look, let's go back to my place, you can stay the night and I can sleep on the couch."

"No." Jason shook his head. "I want to be in my house as much as possible while both of my parents are still there. Go to your house, I'll drive myself from there."

"Are you sure?" Nate asked, looking over at his friend once they reached a red light. "It wouldn't be any trouble to set up the couch."

"I'm sure," Jason nodded, wiping his eyes. "I want to go home."

"Well alright…" Nate sighed. "I just want you to know that Shane didn't mean that, he cares about you, he's just fed up, you know that he's more impatient than either of us." Nate took one hand off of the steering wheel and squeezed Jason's shoulder. "Hey, would you feel better if we stopped at the store and got a make-your-own birdhouse kit?"

"No." Jason shook his head. "I don't want a birdhouse."

"What? Last month that's all you could talk about!"

"That was before." Jason slumped back into the seat and let out a sigh. "Just get back to your house, I want to go home."

"Ok." Nate sighed and continued to drive in silence. "Jace, if you need anything, call me, ok? Or just come over, I'm only a few blocks away." Jason nodded and Nate looked around to see if anyone else was watching the car before leaning in and giving Jason a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you, be safe." He slipped out of the car and Jason moved into the driver's seat.

"I love you too," Jason sighed and rolled up the window as Nate headed towards his house, walking backwards and waving at Jason. Jason pulled out of Nate's driveway and headed home. He went upstairs and lay down on his bed, ignoring the constant calls and text messages from Shane saying that he was sorry. Eventually, he was able to fall asleep; thinking about Nate calmed him down. He was awoken early in the morning by his phone ringing. It was Nate's ring tone, so he decided to answer. "Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Hi, Jason, it's Nate's mom, Anya."

"Oh, hey Mrs. Walker, what's up?" Jason sat up, yawning.

"Is Nate with you?" She sounded slightly worried, which caught Jason's attention right away.

"No, why?"

"He's not here and he didn't take his car or leave a note, so I can't think of anywhere else he would be…"

"I don't know where he is, I'm – hold on, Shane's on the other line, maybe he picked Nate up…" Jason switched lines on his phone. "What?"

"Jason…" Shane's voice sounded shaky. "I know you're mad at me, but don't hang up, Nate's in trouble."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean he's in trouble?" Jason asked, terrified by Shane's serious tone.

"Look, I'm on my way over, ok? Don't leave your house and lock your front door."

"What do I tell Nate's mom? She's on the other line…"

"Tell her that you don't know where Nate is and that you have to go, ok? I'm in my car now, I'll be at your house in a few minutes, ok? Do what I said Jason."

"Ok." Jason nodded and hung up with Shane. "Hey, Mrs. Walker? He doesn't know where Nate is…I'm sorry, but I really have to go, my mom's yelling for me…let me know if you find him, ok?"

"Alright Jason, call me if you hear from him."

"I will Mrs. Walker." Jason hung up and ran downstairs, locking the door of the house that he shared with his parents. They were both at work and he was the only one there, and since he was currently frightened, he hung out in the kitchen with the knives until his phone rang again.

"Jason, it's me, I'm at the door, come let me in?" Shane still sounded worried as he walked up the stairs to Jason's doorway. Jason didn't say anything, he just hung up the phone and opened the door for Shane. "Jason…are you alright?"

"Please tell me what's going on…" Jason looked worriedly at Shane as he locked the door again and led him into the kitchen. "Please? I want to know…"

"This morning I got this…" Shane sighed and tapped a few buttons on his phone before handing it to Jason. There was a text message from Nate's number, but it was definitely not from Nate. **Shane Grey, we've got the youngest, and therefore most important, member of your band right here. If you ever want to see him alive again then you will stop trying to get away from our hold. You will sing our songs and you will do it with a smile on your face, for Nathan.**

"No…" Jason shook his head. "This isn't true, how do we even know that they have Nate? This can't be happening." Jason looked worriedly at Shane.

"I don't know for sure yet, but here, look at this one…" Shane took the phone back and moved up one text message. **For proof that we have your darling little friend, be at Jason's at 10:30 AM. I know that his parents will be gone and the house will be yours. Get on his webcam at precisely 10:30 and do not tell anyone about it or Nate dies.**

"It's 10:15…" Jason sighed. "What do we do for the next 15 minutes? What if they hurt him Shane? What is wrong with these people? It's just music!" Jason stood up and looked agitated.

"It's money, Jason. We're their top selling band, if we leave the label then they lose a ton of revenue…" Shane sighed. "This is my fault, Jason, I shouldn't have let this happen…I'm sorry, I didn't know that something like this might happen…" Shane looked at his feet, clearly ashamed.

"We don't know that it's anything yet…someone could have stolen Nate's phone, right?"

"Jason, it's not likely…" Shane sighed and put his arm around Jason's shoulders. "Nate is missing, right? The text was from his phone…I'm sorry, but I think that this might be the real thing."

"I don't want to believe you." Jason shook slightly as Shane started to guide him upstairs. "I don't' want anything to happen to him Shane! You don't know how much he means to me…" Jason sniffled slightly. "Oh god…why Nate?"

"He's vulnerable…" Shane sighed. "He keeps his window open at night and he trusts everybody…also, he'll get scared…he's the youngest, so naturally we try our hardest to protect him and they know that. By attacking Nate they're forcing us to do what they want." Shane sat down on the edge of Jason's bed. "Oh, and Jason? He means just as much to me as he does to you, you're both like brothers to me and I love you both…and I'm so sorry about what I said to you yesterday, I didn't mean it, I would never try to hurt you like that."

"I know." Jason nodded, sighing. Shane didn't understand how much Nate meant and he couldn't tell him because they had agreed not to tell Shane until two things both occurred; one: They were sure that it was going to last and two: they were sure that he was alright with it, and they hadn't reached the second one yet. Once they had fallen in love they had figured that relationship would last at least a decent time frame, they had just been waiting until they were sure that Shane wouldn't mind… but now Jason was worried that he and Nate were never going to get the chance to tell him.

"Look, Nate, if it's real I'll give them what they want…I'll back off, I'll stop trying to break free, my independence in music isn't worth Nate's life, alright? And if he's dead, we're useless to them anyways and they stop making their money from us, which is what they want, he'll be alright."

"Yeah…maybe." Jason shrugged. "But still, what if they hurt him?"

"They won't…at least I don't think they will…" Shane rubbed Jason's back slowly.

"There's only a few minutes left, we should set up the webcam so that they we're on time, I don't want them to kill Nate because we're late." Jason got off of his bed and walked over to the computer, sinking down into the swivel chair. He turned on his computer, logged online and turned on his webcam. Shane grabbed a chair form the hallway and sat down next to Jason. "I know that you didn't mean what you said about my family yesterday, I just didn't want to think about so I didn't answer your calls."

"It's ok…" Shane sighed. "I just wish that I hadn't said those things, I feel guilty as hell."

"Well…let's worry about that later." Jason sighed and both boys just sat, waiting to see what was going to happen. At precisely 10:30 an instant message appeared on Jason's screen. _**Video Call Invitation from Evil Pomegranates accept or decline? **_"Do you think that's them?" Jason asked.

"It's possible…" Shane nodded. "You'd better accept it…" Jason nodded and did so. A live video feed came onto the screen and two masked men appeared.

"Ah, Shane, Jason, so glad that you could join us!" One of the men smirked and Jason's blood ran cold. "So, are you going to comply?"

"We want proof!" Jason demanded, glaring at the webcam.

"Alright, fine." One of the men snapped his fingers and a door opened. Three more figures came through the door. Two more masked men and their captive.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nate!" Jason put his hand to the screen as the men roughly forced Nate to his knees. The curly haired teen's wrists were handcuffed together, a thick off white rag was tied through his mouth, silencing him, and a heavy black cloth covered his eyes, blindfolding him. Upon hearing Jason, Nate's head turned upwards, revealing not only tearstains, but a split lip and a few bruises.

"MMMMM!!" He tried to speak through the gag, but it was pointless. From the way Nate began struggling against his restraints, it was clear that he thought Jason had been captured as well.

"Calm down boy," one of the masked men kicked Nate sharply in the gut and the boy let out a whimper of pain through the gag. Jason turned and buried his face in Shane's shoulder; he couldn't stand seeing Nate in pain like that. Shane wrapped his arm around Jason and sighed.

"I'll stop causing trouble, just release Nate." Shane gulped, trying not to sound scared. "Nate, don't worry, you're going to be fine, don't be scared, we'll help you, nod if you understand me, Nate." Nate's head moved up and down slightly.

"Nate…stay strong," Jason sighed. "It's gonna be ok."

"Alright, you've seen him, one of the men said, stepping in front of Nate. "Take him away," he ordered the two men who had brought Nate in. they each grabbed one of his arms and started to drag him roughly to his feet. Nate winced in pain and Jason suppressed a cry.

"Please…" Jason begged. "Don't take him away yet…"

"Jason, this has nothing to do with you," one of the men said. "You're much better off staying out of this, we have no reason not to pick you up too." Upon hearing that, Nate began to struggle wildly against the men holding him. The outburst was so unexpected that he almost made it out of their grasp, but even if he had, it wouldn't have done him any good, in fact, judging by the rough slap across the face he was given for that small attempt, it would have put him in greater danger.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Jason snapped as the hand collided with Nate's cheek. "He's just a kid, can't you see that? For god's sake, he's 15 years old!"

"You know what?" The man who seemed to have established himself as in charge spoke again. "I've changed my mind, we'll keep him in here while we talk," he turned to his men. "You know what to do." They nodded and one of the men holding Nate pulled out a knife. The other man grabbed a handful of Nate's curls and yanked his head back, exposing his neck. The first man put the blade to Nate's throat. "Jason, every time you speak out of turn, this knife will cut a little deeper into him, causing him a little more pain and leaving a longer lasting scar, do you understand?" Jason just nodded and squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch as Nate shook with a mixture of fear and chills from the cold metal of the knife. "Now Shane, we believe that you will cooperate, leverage like this is extraordinarily effective, but the people who have hired us asked us to keep him for a bit, make sure that you can handle these demands."

"What?" Shane looked at the camera in shock. "I'm giving you…them…whoever, what they want, why can't you just let him go? As Jason pointed out, he's just a kid!"

"We know he's a kid, don't you realize yet that his youth is the reason why he's the one here with us? If Jason were the baby, he'd be the one in handcuffs with a knife to his throat." Jason wanted so badly to scream at these men, to tell them that Nate wasn't a baby, that he was the only person allowed to call Nate that, but the knife to the boy's throat was a harsh reminder that he couldn't say anything.

"Alright…" Shane sighed. "How much longer are you going to keep him?" His tone was even and Jason could tell that he was trying to cause Nate the least amount of pain possible by being civil to the kidnappers, but the older boy didn't understand how Shane could sound so calm.

"Until we receive further instruction from our clients, most likely a few days."

"Are you going to hurt him?" Shane asked, trying not to sound as worried as he felt.

"That depends on you." The man smirked through his ski mask. "Behave, pop star, we wouldn't want things to get out of hand with your friend." Jason squeezed his eyes tighter as Nate was mentioned.

"Would you please remove his gag?" Shane asked. "I would like to talk to him briefly."

"You can talk to him, shoot, say whatever you want as long as it's not out of line, though that seems to be Jason's problem, we were told he was an airhead, but I didn't know how true it was, and before you start reacting to that, Nate, remember, too sudden of a movement and you're dead." The boy let out a soft whimper to show that he understood.

"I would like him to be able to respond, please." Shane gulped.

"I'm sorry, we're under orders not to let him speak to you." The man shook his head. "Nice try though, really." The man chuckled and Jason's blood ran cold. "Oh, and you're not to tell anyone about this, let the rest of the world think that he's just gone missing…until he turns up, no harm, no foul."

"Fine." Shane nodded. "At least remove the blindfold, he can't tell us anything incriminating with his eyes, but we can find out a lot about how he is holding up, and that's what's important."

"Alright." The man nodded and allowed the blindfold to be removed from Nate's eyes. The boy blinked twice and looked up. Shane gasped and Jason opened his eyes as well. Nate's left eye had a nasty shiner around it and was only partially open. Both eyes displayed a terror and pain that Nate had never felt before, and Jason felt his stomach lurch.

"May I talk to him please?" Jason asked, looking in to Nate's broken eyes. The man in charge nodded and Jason held his hand out. "Nate, it's going to be alright…I know that you keep hearing that, but you have to know that nothing is more important than you're safety. We love you, Nate, and we're going to get you out of there, just hang on." Nate just nodded, lowering his head slightly as Jason reached out to him.

"Alright, that's enough. We'll be in touch." The computer screen went dark and Jason collapsed into Shane's arms.

"It's going to be alright, just like you told him, he's going to be fine, we'll do what they asked."

"I love him! I don't want him to be there with them!"

"I know," Shane soothed, leading Jason back over to the bed. "I love him too and he loves us, just hold it together, it won't be long till he's back."

"No." Jason shook his head. "You don't understand Shane, I don't just love him, I'm_ in_ love with him."


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh Jason…" Shane sighed and pulled Jason closer to him, hugging him tightly. "Does he know how you feel?" Shane whispered, rubbing Jason's back.

"Yes, he knows." Jason nodded. "He…we're kind of together. I could have stopped all of this, he asked me to stay over at his house last night but I told him no and now he's gone…" Jason sank into Shane's arms. "He loves me too, you know…he tells me that he loves me all of the time, he doesn't let me forget about it and I don't want him to."

"I'm sorry that you have to be going through this, Jason…if he's your…whatever he is…then this has to be a lot harder for you than it is for me." Shane gave Jason's shoulder a small squeeze. "But you have to understand that it isn't your fault, his parents were in the house too, these people knew what they were doing."

"I wasn't going to sleep on the couch, not like we'd planned, I never do when I stay over. We pretend that I do and then as soon as his parents are asleep I go back to his room and right as they're waking up I go back to the couch, he would have been safe."

"Or you would be in just as bad of a position as him…" Shane pointed out.

"At least then he wouldn't be alone!" Jason tried to rationalize, but Shane interrupted him.

"And you wouldn't have been able to tell him that you love him or that it's going to be alright, if he loves you then those words are going to be what he replays again and again in his mind while he waits for them to let him go." Shane guided Jason so that he was lying down on his own bed. "And while you wait for them to release him, try and relax. He loves you too, and I'm going to make sure that he gets away, alright? I'm going to do what they ask." Shane ran his fingers through Jason's hair while Jason lay on the pillow. "Here, would it make you feel better if I sang to you?"

"I dunno…maybe." Jason shrugged. "Honestly, I just want him here with me."

"Alright." Shane nodded. "Well, I think I'll give it a shot if you want me to. Just let me know if you decide that there's something that you want me to sing for you."

"Alright…" Jason shook his head and gulped. "But thank you, Shane, for being so understanding, we didn't tell you earlier because we were afraid that you wouldn't want to be friends with us anymore, that you wouldn't let us be in the band with you anymore."

"The old Shane…maybe." Shane smiled slightly. "But uh…no, you guys must be cute, I can't wait to see you two together once we get Nate back…you know, this explains a lot of things, how long have you been going out?" Shane rubbed Jason's back. "Tell me about how you guys got together." Shane wanted to keep Jason's mind off of what was happening and he had a feeling that getting him to remember good moments with Nate would help.

"Since you were at camp." Jason blushed slightly. "We got together shortly after you stopped calling to complain every hour. We were in his pool and I wanted to play Marco Polo, but Nate pointed out that it would kind of suck with just two of us, so we were just sort of splashing around and goofing off and I picked him up and I was going to throw him, but he giggled and gave me a quick little peck on the lips instead and that pretty much just turned in to more." Jason sighed happily at the memory. "I never threw him, I sort of set him down and smiled at him and he moved closer to me and then he stopped and I just nodded and that was that."

"Aw," Shane smiled, sounding genuinely appreciative of the two. "I'll bet you two are cute."

"We are." Jason nodded. "Especially him, he does the cutest things, but I don't want to-"

"Tell me," Shane interrupted. "I want to hear about it, it'll keep us both a little happier."

"Ok…" Jason sighed. "Well when we're sitting next to each other in the car or on the couch and he wants some attention, he just slams his shoulder in to mine…I know it sounds kind of lame, but it's really cute. Also, he really, really likes to sit on my lap when we're alone, not in like a sexual kind of way, just like if we're watching TV he moves onto my lap and plays with my hair while he watches. Also, we hold hands a lot, we're just REALLY good at hiding it. Under tables, all of that jazz…" Jason couldn't help but smile slightly. "You don't see it, but yeah…also, whenever he tells me that he loves me makes sure that's looking directly at me."

"That's really sweet." Shane nodded.

"Yeah, it is, he is." Jason nodded. "I kind of love him a lot." He blushed slightly. "I'm sorry to unload all of this on you…it just…it makes me feel better to say it out loud."

"I understand." Shane nodded. "I feel that way about Mitchie."

"You should call her, let her know that." Jason sighed.

"I should…" Shane took his phone out. "I should also tell her to go stay somewhere else until this blows over, will you be ok if I leave you for a few minutes?"

"I'll be fine," Jason nodded. "If I were in your place and it was Mitchie that were in Nate's place, I would want to call Nate."

"Ok, I won't be too long." Shane left the room, phone in hand, and Jason tried hard not to hear what Shane was saying in the hallway. He missed Nate already, and as he thought about the situation, a whole new fear rose him. "Whoa…" Shane looked taken aback when he re-entered the room. "I thought you said that you'd be ok if I left!"

"I was just thinking…Shane, what if he doesn't want me anymore after all of this? What if he changes and he doesn't want me anymore?!"

"That's going to happen Jason," Shane shook his head. "He loves you, feelings like that don't just go away. Right now he needs you to be strong for him, though, and not break…because when he comes home he's going to need a shoulder to cry on, and you and I both know it won't be mine."

_**A/N Sorry, that was a little bit of fluff filler, but before I write more I have a question: Should I leave this story tame and keep the rating at T, or do you want Jason and Nate to get physical later on?**_


	5. Chapter 5

It was a rough few days. Shane and Jason had to pretend that the only worry they felt was that of Nate's whereabouts. They couldn't tell anyone what they knew and on top of everything, the label kept making them do things to prove their loyalty, especially Shane. They had him running stupid errands, making him speed up, dumb down and pop-ify some of the slower, more meaningful ballads and songs that he had written, and do whatever they asked of him. Jason was a mess, trying to keep himself composed while he worried about and missed Nate. Shane tried to keep Jason calm, but the longer it had been since the webcam conversation, the harder it was for Shane to keep Jason content. "Hello?" Shane answered his phone, standing to leave the room he was in and heading with Jason to his bedroom.

"One last thing, you have to do one last thing and then we let the kid go." Shane's breath stopped as he heard that. Nate was one task away from freedom…finally.

"Anything, what is it?" Shane asked the question quickly, he didn't care if they thought he was eager, he was desperate to know that Nate was safe.

"You have to call Mitchie and break up with her. Not in a friendly way either, she needs to be out of your life, she's causing problems…she wants you to be independent and soulful, she's rubbing off on you and it's hurting the label's image of you boys, got it?"

"What?" Shane gulped. He really, really cared about Mitchie and he didn't want to have to do this. He looked at Jason, who had been listening to the conversation. Jason looked confused and offered Shane no comfort or help in how to handle this task.

"Call her now, three way while I'm on the line, I need to hear this, I need to make sure that you're really ours. Once I'm convinced, we'll let you know where you can pick up Nate. He's been moved to a different location and once you do this, we'll tell you where he is and we'll have our people clear out." The man on the other end of the line clearly meant business, and Jason nodded for Shane to make the call.

"Alright," Shane let out a deep sigh. "Fine." He dialed Mitchie's number, making sure that the other man was still on the line, and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello, Shane?"

"Hi Mitchie."

"How are you?" She asked, genuinely concerned. "Have you heard anything about Nate?"

"No," Shane shook his head. "Look, he's my band mate, not yours, so stay out of it, alright?" the second he began to lay in to her he adopted a harsher tone, and Jason could see in Shane's eyes how hard this was for him to do.

"Shane, I…I don't understand." Mitchie's voice displayed her confusion, and Shane had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her the truth.

"You wouldn't, would you." He sighed nastily. "You're just a stupid little girl with fantasies of becoming a rock star. You don't know the first thing about the industry, nor do you seem to realize that you just haven't got what it takes to make it in a business like this."

"Shane, what are you talking about? I thought that-"

"Did you really think that I could change, Mitchie?" Shane interrupted her. "Did you really think that I would stop being mean just because of you? You're stupider than I thought. Nobody changes at summer camp, they just find out who they are and become it more," he snapped, stealing a line from a movie he had watched with Nate and Jason a couple of weeks ago.

"Shane, what are you talking about?"

"You and I…we're over Mitchie! Don't you see? We were just a game all along…at least to me. I bet myself that I could get you on your back by now, and I haven't so we're done and that's that. I don't ever want to hear your whiney voice again, is that clear?"

"Shane-"

"Don't you understand?" Shane laughed coldly. "Your songs suck, you're not my type AT ALL, and I'm not interested in you, alright? I lost a bet with myself, sucks for me, fun's up. Have a nice life." Before she could protest anymore, Shane hung up. "There, happy?" He asked scathingly. "Did I do well enough? Can I please have my friend back now?" Shane gulped, trying to keep back the tears that were so close to coming out.

"Very well done, Mr. Grey." The man on the other end was clearly laughing, and that just made Shane all the more upset about what he had just done. "I'm very impressed, I have to say, I didn't know you could act as well as sing bad pop music."

"Yeah, well…apparently I can, now will you please just tell us where we can find Nate?" Shane used impatience to try and disguise how upset he was about having to be so hurtful to Mitchie. Jason put his arm around Shane and squeezed him slightly.

"I know that was hard for you," he whispered in to Shane's free ear. "I'm so, so sorry that you had to do that." Shane just nodded and waited for a reply from the other end of the phone.

"So you want to know where Nate is?" The man asked. Jason and Shane could both hear the smirk on his face.

"YES!" Shane let out a gasp of exasperation. "And please…tell me that you didn't hurt him too badly…"

"We roughed him up a little, but he'll survive…but I guess we could let you have him back…" the man let out a dramatic sigh as though this was a huge imposition. "Just know that you're bound to your contract and if you break it or break any of our rules, things are going to get a lot worse for the three of you…and the people that you care about."

"We'll comply," Shane said. "Now Nate?"

"Alright, here are the rules for his rescue. You and Jason go alone. We have a surveillance system set up and if anyone other than you or Jason goes near him, he will die instantly. If you cooperate, you will not have to see or deal with any of my men. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Shane nodded.

"Good boy." The man chuckled slightly. "There's an old, abandon house on Tennessee Avenue, you'll know which one. The key is under the doormat. It may take you a little time, but if you search the house, you'll find your boy." With that, the man hung up. Shane just stood in the middle of the room, completely silent.

"What are you waiting for?" Jason asked, grabbing Shane's arm and tugging him towards the door. "Let's go get Nate!"


	6. Chapter 6

Jason and Shane drove to Tennessee Avenue as located the clearly abandon house quickly. Jason dropped to his knees immediately and began to reach around under the doormat for the key. "Here," the second he found it, he handed it to Shane, who unlocked the door while Jason got to his feet. "NATE!" Jason called as he ran to begin searching the house for his boyfriend.

"NATHAN!" Shane called, heading upstairs while Jason stayed on the first floor to look. Jason had checked the living room, kitchen, and several closets before he heard Shane's cries. "JASON! UPSTAIRS!" Jason ran upstairs and followed Shane's voice to one of the bedrooms. Shane stood in front of a closed door that had a key protruding from the lock. Jason nodded and Shane opened the door. Nate was huddled in the back corner, his knees pulled tightly to his chest, crying with his eyes squeezed shut. There was a piece of black electrical tape over his mouth and his wrists were still cuffed behind his back, but a small key was taped to the sleeve of his old sleeping shirt.

"Oh my god…" Jason whispered. He and Shane rushed to Nate and Jason dropped to Nate's side. "Nate, baby, it's me…please, open your eyes." He ripped the tape off Nate's mouth.

"No, I'm imagining this…if I open my eyes, you won't be here." Nate shook his head and Jason sighed, placing his hand on Nate's cheek while Shane sank to their level and took the key from Nate's sleeve to unlock the cuffs.

"You're not imagining this," Jason said softly. "You're safe now, you're free." Shane threw the cuffs to the ground and Nate slowly opened his eyes. Jason stood and offered Nate his hand, helping him to his feet. Nate stood slowly and as soon as he was stable, threw his arms around Jason and buried his face in Jason's chest, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Jason held Nate to him closely and kissed the top of the boy's curly head before rubbing his back comfortingly. As Nate sobbed into Jason's shirt, Jason caught Shane's eye. Shane looked heartbroken and empty, and Jason knew why. If Shane cared for Mitchie half as much as Jason cared for Nate, than he must be hurting like crazy.

"I'm going to wait in the car," Shane said softly. "Come on down when you're ready." Jason just nodded and watched regretfully as Shane left the room. He sighed deeply before a second before focusing his attention back on Nate.

"Nate, baby…don't cry!" Jason held Nate tighter. "You're alright, you're safe, I've got you and I'm not letting you go, alright?" Jason could feel Nate nod against his body and he kissed the top of the boy's head again. "I love you, baby, and I'm so, so sorry that I didn't stay with you the night you were taken."

"D-don't s-say that!" Nate sobbed, his voice muffled by Jason's shirt. "If y-you blame this o-on yourself it w-will be even w-worse!"

"Alright Nate, alright," Jason spoke comfortingly. "It's alright, don't think about that, think about me, think about us, think about how much I love you." Nate nodded. "Now tell me, Nate, did they hurt you?"

"N-not since t-the d-day they filmed f-for you…" Nate shook his head and Jason breathed out a sigh of relief. "B-but they s-said horrible, horrible things!" Jason felt Nate go weaker in his arms and he held on that much tighter.

"Calm down a little, and then you can tell me, alright?" Jason's soothing voice helped Nate a little bit "Do you want to go home, Nate?" Jason asked. Nate shook his head no. "Why not baby?"

"Mom…s-she'll m-make a f-fuss and I don't w-want to d-deal with her y-yet!" His speech was hitched by his slowing sobs.

"Alright." Jason nodded. "Look, how about I call her, tell her that we found you and that you're not ready to go home yet and that you're coming to my house for a bit." Nate nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna let you go with one arm, alright?" Nate nodded and Jason pulled his phone from his pocket, making the call to Nate's house. "Hello, Mrs. Walker? It's Jason."

"Oh…how are you Jason?" she asked, clearly distraught.

"I'm alright…Shane and I…we found Nate."

"Oh my god! REALLY?!" Her voice gained more life and Jason had to hold the phone away from his ear. "How is he? Where did you find him? What happened?"

"He's alright, a little shaken and a little hurt, but nothing that will need a doctor. He called me and Shane about half an hour ago saying that he had woken up on the side of the road in his pajamas and he didn't know where he was or what had happened, but he seems alright now…it's just…he says that he's not ready to go home yet, so I'm going to bring him back to my place and I promise that I'll bring him home once he's ready."

"No, that is unacceptable, Jason Kane, you know that he is my son and you know better than to keep him at your house after this has happened to him, you will bring him home immediately."

"With all due respect madam," Jason leveled with her. "I am going to do exactly what Nate wants because he's the one that's hurt, so if you want him to come home, then you're going to have to take it up with him." I held the phone out to Nate, and he took it gingerly.

"Nathan, come home!"

"I will mommy, just…just not right away, alright? I want to go to Jason's for a little bit first…at least until I feel a little bit better about everything."

"Nathan-"

"Mommy, please!" Nate begged. "I really, really want to have some time to think things over before you smother me. I love that you love me, but I just…I need a little rest and I know you, you'll be doting on me nonstop."

"But Nathan, sweetie, I love you."

"I love you too mommy, and I'll come home in a couple of hours, alright? I promise."

"Oh…alright." Nate's mom sighed. "I love you Nathan."

"I love you too mom." Nate handed the phone back to Jason.

"Mrs. Walker, I promise that I'll take good care of him until he's ready to go home, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you, Jason, for finding my son."

"Don't thank me, thank him, he's the one who called and told us where he was, we just came to get him…I'm so glad that he's safe."

"Me too. Goodbye Jason."

"Goodbye Mrs. Walker."

"Baby, are you ok to go get in the car with Shane?" Jason asked. "You can lie down in the backseat, I'll sit with you."

"Ok." Nate nodded and looked up at Jason. "Jace, I love you…" he sighed. "Thank you for coming to get me, I was so scared…I thought that I was never going to see you again."

"Nate, you're always going to see me again." Jason smiled slightly. "But it's really Shane that you have to thank, he's the one that made all of the sacrifices for your freedom, but we'll talk about that later, right now let's just get you somewhere comfortable."

"Alright." Nate nodded.

"Oh, baby?" Jason asked. "Would it be alright if I kissed you? You seem fragile and I don't want to make you more upset."

"You won't." Nate shook his head and stood on the tip toes of his bare feet so that Jason could kiss him softly. After one quick kiss, Jason lifted Nate into his arms and carried him bridal style towards the car. When they reached it, they saw Shane sitting in the driver's seat, crying into the crook of his own arm.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why is he crying?" Nate whispered to Jason as they got closer to the car.

"Nate…look, I'll explain it later, alright?" Jason closed his arms tighter around Nate. He didn't want Nate to know that Shane had been forced to be so cruel to Mitchie, it would break Nate's heart and Jason knew that the boy would blame himself when it was not his fault.

"No, tell me, I want to know." Nate rested his head on Jason's shoulder and nuzzled his neck.

"look…you're not going to like this, I don't want to upset you."

"Just tell me Jace, please?" Nate looked up at Jason, his eyes wide, those his crying had come to a stop…at least for now, Jason was afraid that if he told Nate what had happened

"Alright…" Jason took a deep breath. "The label made Shane do a lot of things that he didn't want to do in order to prove that he was ready to cooperate…in order to secure your release, and one of those things was breaking up with Mitchie." Jason sighed. "But they didn't allow him to be nice about it, they made him call her and say horrible, horrible mean things about how he was only in it for sex and how he never wanted to see her again and in all honesty, he was getting close tears while he was doing it, but he stayed strong because it was the last thing that he had to do before they gave you back…it's just sinking in now for him."

"That's…that's awful!" Nate's bottom lip trembled, but he managed to keep back his tears. "This is all my fault…" Nate shook slightly as Jason set him down so that he could open the car door.

"No, it's not…and just don't say anything about it to Shane just yet, alright?" Nate nodded and Jason opened the back door of the car for Nate. "Hey Shane, you ok?"

"Yeah…sorry…just glad that this is over." He wiped his eyes and smiled back at Nate. "You ok man?" Nate just nodded and tried to smile back at Shane. "Where to?"

"We're going back to my place for a bit, you're welcome to stay with us, if you want," Jason added at the end. He knew that Shane probably wouldn't, but he didn't want the other boy to feel left out.

"Nah, that's alright." Shane shrugged and started the car as Nate lay down, his head in Jason's lap. Jason's fingers gently wound through Nate's curls as Shane drove. The drive was quiet, the only sound being the occasional sniffle coming from Nate. "Nate, get better, ok?" Shane smiled weakly at Nate as he and Jason got out of the car.

"I will." Nate nodded. "Shane…thank you so much, I really appreciate everything, if there's ever anything that I can do to repay you or begin to repay you, let me know, alright? You're an amazing friend and…I'm sorry that I got mad at you for yelling at Jason, it wasn't your fault, you were upset."

"Thanks Nate." Shane nodded. "But the only thing that you can do for me is get some rest and write a kick ass love song for Jason, he'll love it."

"What?" Nate looked at Shane, confused.

"Jason told me, Nate." Shane smiled slightly. "He loves you so much…"

"I really do," Jason nodded and took Nate's hand.

"You told him?" Nate looked at Jason, his head tilted to the side.

"Yeah." Jason nodded. "It was time that he found out, and he's totally ok with it." Shane nodded and smiled, supporting Jason's words.

"You guys are my best friends…if I weren't ok with it than we would have some serious issues…now go, get some rest, get some food…I'll see you both later." Shane drove off without another word, leaving Nate and Jason alone in front of Jason's house.

"Have you eaten anything?" Jason asked as he led Nate towards the front door.

"Not much…water and bread." Nate shrugged.

"Oh baby…" Jason put his arm around Nate and squeezed his shoulder as he unlocked the door. "Ok, here, you go take a shower, I'll lay out some clothes and order a pizza, ok?"

"Ok." Nate nodded and Jason walked him upstairs to the bathroom. Jason heard the water turn on and he busied himself finding some clothes for Nate calling Domino's and ordering a large pepperoni pizza. Once he had done all of that, he sat down on his bed and waited for the sound of the water to stop, but after 20 minutes, it still hadn't. Jason got up and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Nate? Are you ok in there?" There was no answer. "Nate, I'm coming in, alright?" Still no answer, so Jason pushed the door open. Nate was sitting on the floor of the shower, still in his pajamas, soaked and crying. "Oh Nate!" Jason opened the shower door and turned off the water before sitting down next to Nate and pulling him into his arms. "Nate, what's wrong?"

"They told me that you hated me!" Nate sobbed. "They told me that you were leaving me to die, you and Shane…that you didn't care about me, that no one did. They told me that I was worthless, the least talented member of the band, that I was only in it because I was cute." Nate put his head on Jason's shoulder as Jason held him close.

"Nathan, none of that is true! I love you, Shane loves you, we would never leave you to die, a lot of people care about you! And Nate, you are NOT worthless, don't ever let anyone make you think that you are." Jason kissed Nate's forehead. "You're so talented, Nate! You have skills that people would kill for. You're an amazing lyricist and guitarist and you have a beautiful, beautiful voice. You're in the band because you rock harder than anyone I know. Shane can only sing and I can only play guitar! You can do both just as well as either of us can do one." Jason pulled Nate into him as the boy began to shake. "You're amazing Nate, and yes, you are cute, but you're so much more than that…especially to me."

"I love you Jason." Nate shivered in Jason's arms.

"I love you too, Nate. Now let's get you in to some dry clothes, alright? I'll put them in here and you can take a proper shower, alright?"

"Wait…Jason?" Nate took Jason's hand as Jason stood up. "I never knew that words could hurt so much." Nate stood as Jason helped him.

"It's verbal abuse, Nate," Jason hugged him close. "It was just they're way of breaking your mind without breaking your body."

"They broke my heart, Jason." Nate shuddered. "When they told me that you didn't love me, that you said that I was just a tool."

"Well I do love you, Nate, and I'm not going to stop any time soon. They lied to you to make you feel bad about yourself, don't let it get to you, it's over and I'm here for you." Jason put his hands on Nate's cheeks and pulled him in to a passionate kiss. "Does that tell you that I'm not lying?" Nate nodded. "Good, now shower and then I'll hold you some more. Food's on its way."

"Thank you, Jason." Nate kissed the tip of Jason's nose. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

"I know exactly where I'd be without you," Jason sighed. "And I don't want to think about it."


	8. Chapter 8

"Jason?" Nate walked downstairs to where Jason was sitting on the couch in the living room. The clothes that he was wearing were a little too big for him, especially because he had lost weight in the last few days. His damp curls hung slightly limp and he was wearing an expression of slight insecurity.

"Hey Nate, how are you?" Jason stood up and put his hands on Nate's shoulders. "You're looking better."

"I feel a little better." Nate nodded and closed his eyes as he placed a soft kiss on Jason's lips. "I'm sorry about earlier in the shower…I just couldn't handle it, I love you so much and thinking that you might not love me hurt so much…"

"Nate," Jason interrupted. "Shut up, I love you, it's not going to stop, so don't worry." Jason pulled Nate into a warm hug. The boys made their way over to the couch and Nate sat with his head on Jason's shoulder. Jason picked up the TV remote and turned on the television.

"Anya Walker called in just moments ago to report that her son, pop star Nathan Walker, member of popular boy band Connect Three, has been located and is alright." A picture of Nate popped up on the screen as the news caster continued to report. "The 16 year old teen heartthrob had been missing for six days and it was believed that he was abducted from his bedroom in the middle of the night, however there was never any request for-" Nate took the remote control from Jason's hand and turned off the television, ridding the screen of the garishly made up newswoman.

"I don't want to watch that," Nate snuggled in closer to Jason.

"I'm sorry baby." Jason pulled Nate closer. "Just tell me what you want to do." Jason kissed Nate's cheek gently.

"I just want to cuddle right now." Nate smiled and rammed his shoulder into Jason's. "I missed you…the whole time that I was locked up I just kept thinking about being with you and it didn't make everything ok, but it made it a lot better."

"You're cute." Jason smiled and nuzzled Nate's neck.

"Where are your parents?" Nate asked, looking around. "Aren't they home?"

"No." Jason shook his head. "They're meeting with the divorce lawyers, it's time to divide everything up, house, cars, me…" Jason sighed.

"They're dividing you?" Nate looked astonished. "How can they do that?"

"Splitting my time." Jason shrugged. "I'm thinking about moving out, I'm 18 now, so it's legal and I've got plenty of money…also, it'd be easier for you and I to keep our relationship hidden."

"I hadn't thought of that." Nate smiled. "You should get a house with a pool."

"Oh yeah?" Jason grinned. "Why's that?"

"So we can have a pool party? Go swimming? I dunno…pools are just fun." Nate shrugged. "I mean I like my pool, but my parents are always home…"

"If you want me to get a house with a pool, I'll get a house with a pool."

"Thank you." Nate smiled again. "You know…we need to help Shane and Mitchie." Nate sighed.

"We can't." Jason closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. "They can't get back together, we're being monitored, someone will get hurt if they do and we can't risk that."

"Leave it to me," Nate kissed Jason's shoulder. "I'll figure something out."

"Yeah." Jason chuckled. "You always-" the doorbell rang, cutting Jason off. "Hold up, lunch is here." Jason gently slid away from Nate and off of the couch. He grabbed his wallet from the table by the door and opened the door. He paid for the pizza and brought it back to the living room along with a 2 litre of Sprite. "Ok Nate…eat." He set the pizza down on the coffee table and opened the box. Nate smiled hesitantly and took a piece. "Baby, what's wrong?" Jason asked as Nate hesitated.

"It's just…I dunno…I'm starving." He sighed.

"Then eat!" Jason smiled and put his arm around Nate.

"Yeah, ok." Nate nodded and took a large bite from the point of the pizza. "Oh my god…" he closed his eyes and sighed. "That is so…so good."

"Well when you've been eating bread and water for six days, I think that pizza and Sprite is a major upgrade." Jason smiled and took a slice for himself as Nate took another huge bite. "You might want to slow down there, kiddo," Jason chuckled as Nate took another gigantic bite.

"I'm sorry…" Nate spoke through a full mouth. "I'm just so, so hungry." Nate smiled as he gulped the food down and took another bite.

"Alright," Jason patted Nate's back. "Just don't choke, ok? I don't want to have to save your life." Jason took a small bite of the pizza, nothing compared to the mouthfuls Jason was biting off.

"You already did." Nate put his head on Jason's shoulder for a second before going back to his lunch. After his first piece of pizza, Nate made a grab for the Sprite. Jason took the two litre bottle and unscrewed the top before handing it to Nate. "Thanks." Nate put the bottle to his lips and began to gulp the soda down for a few seconds before reaching for a second piece of pizza. Jason just laughed as Nate took the second slice. "What?" Nate asked, his mouth full of cheese and pepperoni.

"Nothing, you're just…you're so adorable." Jason couldn't help but to reach out and ruffle Nate's still damp curls. "You're so innocent."

"You are too Mr. I Want a Bird House, Can You Make Me One Shane?" Nate giggled before tucking back in to the pizza.

"Ok, in my defense, birdhouses are awesome." Jason smiled and finished his first piece of pizza as Nate began on his third. "Damn…maybe I should have ordered another pizza…" Jason laughed and kissed Nate's cheek.

"One is enough…do you have any napkins?" Jason nodded and left the living room to grab some napkins. When he got back, Nate was on his fourth piece of pizza, and there was tomato sauce on the corner of his mouth as well as the tip of his nose.

"You're an overzealous pizza eater, you know that?" Jason asked as he sat back down. Nate just smiled. Jason lifted one of the napkins to Nate's nose and wiped off the pizza sauce. When he got to the corners of Nate's mouth, he wiped off the sauce only seconds before Nate dropped the piece of pizza and pulled Jason in to a deep, passionate kiss. Nate pushed Jason down on the couch and straddled him. "Whoa…Nate…what are you doing?"

"I love you," Nate whispered, kissing Jason with a fierce passion. His hands ran under Jason's shirt and he let his hands glide over Jason's soft skin. "I want to prove it. When I was locked away I didn't know if I was ever going to get the chance to go all the way with you and really, that's something that I want. If you don't want it, we can wait, but I think that maybe you do…"

"Nate, promise me that you want this…" Jason sighed. He didn't want to push Nate into something that he wasn't ready for.

"Jason, I promise you that I want this more than anything." Nate smiled down at Jason and Jason's arms wrapped around Nate's slim waste, pulling the younger boy back down into the kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N alright, so what I decided to do with this story was make it tame and then have an Easter Egg chapter, so there is a chapter 8.5 written that contain more graphic, physical content between Nate and Jason (the time between chapters 8 and 9) so if you want that, email me for it at supersonicprairiedog at yahoo dot com!**_

"Your mom is going to want you home soon," Jason said, holding Nate close to him as they lay on top of Jason's bed, jeans back on.

"I know…" Nate sighed, kissing Jason's neck quickly as he snuggled in closer. "But I just want to stay here with you forever." Nate brushed his lips against Jason's, resting his hand on Jason's cheek as he deepened the kiss. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away.

"I love you too." The corner's of Jason's mouth turned upwards into a small smile. "And I wish that you could stay here forever too, but you can't, Nate…you have to go home, you were held hostage for six days, your parents need to see you, it's not fair of me to keep you all to myself."

"Even if that's what I want?" Nate asked, pouting and tilting his head to the side.

"Nate…please, don't do that! You know that I can't say no to you when you do that and you also know that right now I have to say no because you have to go home! You need to go to your parents, tell them that you don't remember anything, let them take you to the doctor, and let them coddle you until you can't stand it anymore, then go to your room and call me. They need to spoil you tonight, alright? So just let them." Jason sighed. "Besides…I need to go over to Shane's this evening and make sure that he's holding up alright…"

"I hate it when you're right," Nate sighed, sitting up slowly and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Then you're lucky that it doesn't happen very often," Jason smiled, sitting up behind Nate, kissing the back of his shoulder blade as he did so. "Go on, finish getting dressed, alright?"

"I don't want to," Nate whined slightly as he stood up, picking Jason's shirt up off of the floor and pulling it on over his head.

"You just did." Jason laughed, standing up himself and pulling a clean t-shirt out of his middle drawer. "Do you want to borrow a pair of shoes?"

"No, that's alright." Nate shook his head. "I can go barefoot for a few block's drive…its fine."

"Alright." Jason took Nate's hand, gently rubbing the skin on the back of Nate's hand with his thumb as he pulled him from the room and down the stairs. Jason let go of Nate's hand and sat down at the front door and pulled his shoes on. "Come on." He put his arm around Nate as he opened the door and escorted the younger boy out to his car. Nate climbed into the passenger seat and Jason went around to the driver's.

"When can I see you again?" Nate asked as Jason began to drive towards Nate's house.

"Tomorrow, probably…but not until you go to a doctor, alright? I don't want to be a distraction, you seem fine, but you have a few cuts and I want you to get those checked out, alright?"

"God, you are so overprotective," Nate smiled.

"Well I thought so too, but then you got kidnapped and I realized that I hadn't been over protective enough." Jason took one hand off of the steering wheel and gave Nate's knee a small squeeze.

"It wasn't your fault." Nate leaned over and kissed Jason on the cheek. "But alright, I'll have my mom take me to the doctor…and even if I can't see you tonight, I'm calling you…maybe we can do a video chat?"

"Maybe." Jason nodded, trying hard to block out the last time he saw Nate on a webcam. "That sounds good…but right now you have to go be the broken son, let your mom think she fixed you up, alright? Oh…and if she makes you lasagna, save me some." Jason pulled up in front of Nate's, kissed Nate quickly and let the younger boy out of the car. He watched as Nate walked to the front door, knocked, and was immediately pulled inside by his mother. Once he was sure that Nate was inside safely, he put the car in drive and sped towards Shane's. The last time that he had seen the singer had been only a few hours ago, but he didn't look good.

"Hi…" Shane looked at his feet as he opened the door. Jason pushed his way in and pulled Shane in to a hug. It was clear that Shane had been crying, and he tried to hide his tearstained face from Jason, but Jason didn't care.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked, leading Shane over to the couch.

"I…I don't know." Shane shrugged, sniffling slightly. Jason had never once seen Shane cry, and the vulnerability just made Jason feel worse. "I was falling in love with her, Jace, and I had to hurt her so badly…she thought that I was different, she thought that I liked her, and everything that she thought was true! She was the first person ever to get through to me like that since I became famous…"

"I'm so sorry Shane, but…but you did the right thing, if you didn't, Nate would be dead right now and I'm sure that he wouldn't be the only one, these people are crazy, it didn't seem like they would have stopped with Nate, hell…you probably would have put Mitchie in danger, you did what you did to protect her."

"You're so lucky, Jason…" Shane turned to face his friend, tears welling in his eyes again. "You and Nate…you love each other and you can be together, sure, no one knows about it, but…but you have each other…I'm…I'm jealous."

"Don't be," Jason whispered. "We're going to figure this out, Nate's working on a plan, we'll get you and Mitchie back together, don't worry!"

"NO!" Shane's eyes lit up in fear. "You were right when you said that they would go after her."

"They won't have to know, Shane," Jason looking meaningfully at Shane.

"They'll find out," Shane shook his head fervently. "You can't do that, Jason! I can't risk her, I'd rather her think I hate her than have her get hurt. You saw Nate, he looked so scared! They beat him up…they tied him up…" Shane sighed. "I couldn't stand to see that happen to Mitchie…just leave it, I'll have to work on getting over it."

"No." Jason shook his head. "You shouldn't have to get over reciprocated love. It's just not fair!"

"Live isn't fair!" Shane snapped. "Now just leave before I get even more upset, I don't want to look at you and your perfect love right now."

"Our love isn't perfect!"

"You're GLOWING, Jason, I know that you're trying to hide it from me, but I can see it in your eyes, you're so happy with him, just leave, it's disgusting me." Shane stood up and grabbed the collar of Jason's shirt, pushing him towards the door.

"SHANE!" Jason put his hands on Shane's shoulders. "Nate and I love you too! And so does Mitchie, there's a way to get through this, and we'll find it, I promise."

"NO!" Shane shook his head as he opened the door and pushed Jason out. "Promise that you'll stay OUT of this, AWAY from her!"

"Shane-"

"PROMISE ME, DAMN IT!"

"Fine…" Jason sighed and looked away from Shane. "I promise."

_**A/N Alright, so I'm going to be out of town starting early tomorrow morning and going until either sunday night or sunday afternoon, so I might be able to post sunday, but odds are not until monday.**_


	10. Chapter 10

"Jason here," Jason answered his phone, suspecting that, from the ring tone, it was Nate.

"Hey Jace." Nate's voice came over the phone and Jason smiled.

"How was your mom? Did she absolutely smother you?" Jason flopped down on his bed, a smile flitting on to his face.

"Absolutely…there was a lot of hugging…she asked what happened, which was awkward, because you know how much I hate lying to her, but yeah, I'm just sticking with our story I guess…" Nate sighed. "She did make lasagna though, and I did save you some."

"What about the doctor's appointment?" Jason asked, turning slightly more serious.

"I have one tomorrow morning…fucking early, but hey…the sooner I get checked out the sooner I can see you, right?" Nate sighed. He felt slightly more clingy since he had been away for almost a week and now he was becoming afraid that Jason wouldn't like that.

"That's good…" Jason nodded. "Can I take you out tomorrow night?"

"Not publicly…" Nate shook his head.

"I know that," Jason chuckled. "We can just go get dinner, no one else has to know it's a date, then we can come back to my place and, as long as my parents aren't fighting, do whatever we want…watch a movie or something."

"I'd like that." Nate smiled, though Jason couldn't see him. "You're sweet, you know that?"

"Only when it comes to you, baby…god, I miss you already!" he let out a deep, rueful sigh.

"I miss you too…but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good, because I don't think that I'd be able to go another day without you, this afternoon was amazing…" Jason trailed off, hoping that Nate felt as good about what they had done as he did.

"I know…god, I was expecting it to be really, really scary, but then it just wasn't…you were so sweet and comforting, you just made everything really easy for me…and not at all awkward." Nate sighed contentedly. "I'd thought about what my first time would be like, and most of the visions were horror stories, you made it really, really nice…something that I want to remember."

"Oh, thanks." Jason blushed slightly. "But uh…you did the same for me, you know…you were gentle, and I was afraid that it would hurt, and it did a little bit, but I think that's just part of the process, you made it as painless and pleasurable as possible."

"How was Shane when you went to go see him?" Nate asked, nervously changing the subject to their other band mate and best friend.

"He's a mess, Nate…god…" Jason sighed. "He yelled at me, he's jealous of us, he kicked me out of his house and he made me promise not to try and help get Mitchie back with him…he doesn't want her to get hurt, but still…I think that we could protect her, I just hate seeing him like that."

"I told you, I'll take care of it, Jace."

"You can't, Nate…he'll get really, really angry if we even try." Jason shook his head and rolled on to his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well I didn't promise him anything," Nate shrugged. "So I think that I can do whatever I want in that department."

"You're an evil genius, you know that?" Jason smiled.

"Turn on your webcam, I want to see you while I talk to you." Nate ordered Jason, who immediately sat up and pulled his laptop over to him. He logged into video chat and opened up a screen with Nate, who was sitting up in bed, already in his pajamas, which consisted of a white tank top and plaid flannel pants. "Your hair's all messy," Nate pointed out, chuckling slightly.

"Oh…sorry, hold on." Jason moved to fix his hair, but Nate cut him off.

"No, babe, don't fix it." Nate shook his head. "It looks good that way, really sexy…"

"Why are you so good looking?" Jason asked, looking at the screen as Nate smiled. "You're just so…I dunno, everything." Jason laughed as Nate bit his bottom lip in a shy manner. "God, Nate, you know that it drives me CRAZY when you do that! That's just unfair."

"Oh…sorry." Nate immediately stopped, his ears turning slightly red. "I wasn't thinking, ha…" he let out a little nervous laughter. "So…how about them Yankees?"

"Why are you talking about the Yankees?" Jason asked, confusing spreading across his face.

"You know…it's just one of those ice breakers, when someone wants to change the subject they just…you know what? Never mind, it really, really doesn't matter."

"Are you ok?" Jason asked, looking seriously at his boyfriend.

"Yeah…why wouldn't I be?" Nate looked confused.

"Um…because you were kidnapped and locked away for six days…I really just want to know if everything's ok…"

"Well my heart's a little broken for Shane, but I'm ok." Nate nodded. "A little sore in a few spots, but that's what you get when you're beat up, small price to pay."

"Oh god, I didn't hurt you any worse this afternoon, did I?" Jason asked, panic and worry setting in to his voice as he mentally obsessed over the potential pain that he had caused Nate.

"No, no…god no." Nate shook his head. "Everything that you did this afternoon was wonderful."

"How are you mentally?" Jason asked. "I mean you were pretty freaked out in the shower, so is everything alright in that department?" Jason tiled his head to the side and looked at the webcam, waiting for Nate's hesitant response.

"I think I'm alright in that department…" Nate nodded slowly. "I don't know, I mean I guess it'll all come down tonight, I'm not sure how well I'm going to sleep, but it should be alright, I mean I think that it will be; the main problem was worrying that you didn't love me, and I think that you've proved that you do, so…"

"I love you with all of my heart, Nate." Jason looked Nate in the eyes as best he could over the internet. "Nothing could make me stop loving you the way that I do…" Jason paused, just looking at Nate for almost a whole minute before speaking again. "Baby, I'm so, so glad that you're safe…"

"I am too, I just wish that Shane didn't have to pay such a big price for my safety." Nate looked down, a slight sadness in his eyes. "I'm going to repay him, Jason, I have to find a way or the guilt is going to kill me."

"NATE!" Jason looked at the younger boy, astonished. "You can't feel guilty, not about that, it wasn't your fault! You were targeted, no one asked you to be a hostage, they took you against your will and then forced Shane's hand…none of it is your fault."

"Fine…" Nate sighed. "If not the guilt then pity…I have you, he deserves to have something like what we have; I love you, Jason, and I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything, so I have no idea how Shane was able too."

_**A/N Sorry I've been away, I haven't been getting much sleep. Also, what I've decided to do, since I'm writing SO many stories at once is, after today, posting updates for two a day, so one day it will be two stories, the next day it will be the next two...I'm sorry for the change, but I'm so busy...**_


	11. Chapter 11

Jason woke up to his phone ringing, and he answered it immediately. "Hullo?" He asked, sleepily.

"Good morning starshine, the Earth says hello," Nate sang into the phone, making Jason smile. "Or should I say good afternoon, that might be more appropriate." Nate chuckled.

"How was the doctor's?" Jason asked, sitting up slowly and leaning up against the headboard of the bed, yawning slightly and rubbing his eyes.

"Eh, it was pretty uninteresting, I mean I'm fine and all, it was just a check up, you know…the usual…the doctor kept asking how I got the little cuts and I kept insisting that I didn't know, but yeah…this is all getting a little bit difficult, I hope the label knows how hard it is for me to lie about what happened to me." Nate sighed. "But yeah, doctor's was fine." He shrugged, bringing the conversation back to the topic that it had started on.

"Are you holding up alright?" Jason asked, slightly worried after what Nate had just said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I just hate lying like this to so many people, I'll get over it, after all, I have you and that's all I really need." Jason smiled and he was sure that he could hear a smile in Nate's voice.

"Hey, you're all I need too…I want to see you…"

"You're in luck, I'm at your back door, wanna come let me in?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Jason jumped out of bed and slammed the phone shut, walking quickly down the stairs and opening the door. Nate walked in and Jason immediately pulled him into a soft kiss. "I missed you," Jason whispered in Nate's ear.

"I missed you too." Nate smiled and nuzzled his head into Jason's neck while the older boy put his arms around Nate's waist. "Nice boxers, by the way."

"Shut up, you know you love them." Jason smiled and picked Nate up, surprising the younger boy and earning a small squeak.

"I never said that I didn't." Nate smirked at Jason's Snoopy boxers as Jason carried him upstairs and set him on the bed. "Anyways…yesterday you were talking about moving out on your own…" Nate lay back on the bed and looked over at Jason, who was pulling on jeans and a t-shirt.

"Yeah…" Jason shrugged and went to go lie down next to Nate. "I talked to my parents last night about what they had been going over with the lawyers and stuff and I really, really don't want to be a part of this, the lawyer said that I Was plenty old enough to choose who I wanted to live with, and so now they're both fighting for me, god knows why, and all I want to do is slap them and tell me that they could both have me if they would just stay married and work through their problems!" Jason sighed and Nate moved to rest his head on Jason's chest, trying to comfort his boyfriend. "I mean I know that I shouldn't be complaining…I mean my problems are next to nothing…I mean you got kidnapped, Shane had to break it off with Mitchie, and here I am whining about a divorce…"

"Jason?" Nate looked up at Jason.

"What?" Jason asked, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Shut up, ok? Divorces…they're scary, they're hard…especially on the kid! You have every right to be upset about this, I mean if my parents were both fighting over me and they couldn't even stay together, I'd be really angry too! I don't want you to feel like your problems don't matter, because Jason, they do, they really do, especially to me." Nate placed a soft kiss on the corner of Jason's mouth and Jason let out a small sigh.

"I love you Nate, I really do…you have no idea how you make me feel." Jason snaked his arms around Nate's waist and pulled him in closer. "If I didn't have you everything would be so much worse….I don't know if I could handle any of this without you."

"Well then it's a good thing that you don't have to." Nate shrugged. "But you know, I feel the same way about you…every time I do something, all I want is your approval, and even though you always, always give it, it still feels great! Every time that I write a song, all I want is for you to like it, and you always do…and every time I hear you tell me that you like it, I just feel so much better about myself, and that's all because of you."

"There's only one thing missing in all of this…" Jason sighed. "We need to fix Shane and Mitchie…I mean they don't have to get back together, because that would be dangerous, I think Shane's right, but-"

"We have to clear the air between them," Nate nodded. "We have to let Mitchie know how much Shane loves her and that they have a shot later in life if she can wait for him."

"What do you mean?" Jason looked over at Nate, confused.

"I mean that we're not going to stay with this label forever…right? We're not going to be stuck doing exactly this for the rest of our lives! One more album and our contract's up, if we rush that, Shane's a free man…free to get back with Mitchie, but if he waits through the entire recording process until we're out of the grip of the label, it's going to be too late, she has to know that he wants her back."

"Huh." Jason nodded slowly. "I'd never thought of that…why are you so smart?" Jason kissed the tip of Nate's nose. "I mean you're always the one with the great ideas and the soulful songs."

"And the plan?" Nate asked, a smirk on his face.

"You don't…" Jason trailed off, looking at Nate in surprise.

"That I do." Nate nodded and both boys smirked before Jason pulled Nate into a deep, passionate kiss.

**_A/N Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been far too long since my last update and I owe my readers an explanation. As lame as all of my excuses are, please try and forgive me, father? For starters, work has been leaving me VERY tired by the time I get home (which is about 2:00 PM, but I get up at 5:30...) so I have not only not been writing, but napping on occasion...also, I have had people over at my house several times this week, and they do not often leave when I intend them too, which is just as much my fault as theirs. Third, this weekend I am out of town, but I get home Sunday evening, probably around 7 or 8, so maybe I will do some writing then. Also, I have friends from out of town (friends from Scotland, to be exact) flying in on Thursday, so my focus will be even MORE split! I don't know how to apologize, and to make matters worse, I was bitten HARD by the muse bug (in the form of about 20 mosquitoes last weekend) and I have made GREAT headway on a NEW story...which is just lame, because I should be focusing on the one's that I am writing now...I will not post this new story until I have more of it written, because I am trying to wrap up the ones I'm writing now, but some of them are a LONG way from finished. So father, please forgive me, and I beg of you, let my readers for give me as well?_**


	12. Chapter 12

**TO: Mitchie Torres, .**

**FROM: John Doe, .**

**SUBJECT: Mitchie, it's Nate, you HAVE to open this!**

Dear Mitchie, hey…it's me, Nate…and you probably think that I'm here defending Shane because I'm his friend, but please, keep this open…don't just delete it, read it. You HAVE to know a few things before you continue hating him the way that you do. Now the more I tell you, the more danger you're in, so I'm keeping the details minimal, but Shane…god, Mitchie, he doesn't just like you, he loves you, and he didn't break up with you because he wanted to. Everything that he said when he told you that he couldn't see you anymore was a lie…a lie that he told to protect me. Someone, and I can't tell you who, it's not safe, forced his hand to the point where it became my life or your relationship, and being the man that he is, he chose my life…and making that choice cost him you. Now I've seen Shane upset before, but I've never seen anything like this, not with him. He won't eat, he's hardly sleeping…you can see it on his face, he's depressed, and it's all because he hurt you. You're probably wondering why the hell he isn't telling you this himself, but you have to know that he's doing that to protect you…he has to make you think that he doesn't want you, because he doesn't want you to get hurt…and he didn't see any way around this, but I did, so I contacted you. Look, he's not going to be under these people's thumbs forever…he's going to get away from them, and then he can tell you how he really feels, but he won't if he doesn't think that you want him to, so Mitchie, please…tell me that you can wait for him? It might be a year or so, but just let me know, alright? So that I can slowly hint at him that all hope isn't lost. He loves you, and Jason and I couldn't be happier about his choice. Love, Nate…and Shane, inadvertently.

**o.o.o.o.**

Nate sighed as he hit send on the email, just hoping that it would be enough to convince her. He looked back at Jason, and was met with his boyfriend's lips. Jason lifted the laptop from Nate's hands and wrapped his arms around Nate's waist, kissing his neck softly. "So that was your brilliant plan?" Jason asked, pulling the smaller boy into his lap.

"Yup." Nate nodded, chuckling slightly. "Do you think that it's going to work?"

"If it doesn't, I'll eat my hat." Jason's lips brushed against Nate's slightly flushed cheeks.

"Oh yeah?" Nate turned around to face Jason, straddling his lap, knees on either side of Jason's thighs. "Which hat?"

"The black fedora, my best one." Jason put his hand on the back of Nate's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Within seconds, his hands were at the hem of Nate's shirt, and he was lifting the black Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band tour shirt over his boyfriend's head. "God, I will never get over how beautiful you are, baby." Jason put his lips to the top of Nate's chest, kissing his soft skin.

"Well I work hard for it," Nate smirked and let his hands run under Jason's shirt. "You're just jealous because I work out." Nate pulled Jason's shirt off before kissing him passionately.

"Yeah? Well at least my stomach makes a nice pillow for you, doesn't it?" Jason smiled and his lips reconnected with Nate's as the younger boy's hands traveled to the ever so slight soft pudge in Jason's stomach.

"You know I love that." Nate ran his tongue over Jason's lips before parting them and massaging Jason's tongue with his own. "I love everything about you, Jason, even the weird parts, and I want you to be with me for the rest of my life."

"Well I don't think there's any way that's not going to happen, because that's what I want too." Jason's hands moved so that they rested on Nate's muscular back, the pads of his fingers digging in ever so slightly as they deepened the kiss. Jason slowly began to ease back on the bed, but before he could get all the way down, the computer beeped, and Nate jumped off of him.

"We have an email!" He grabbed the computer and pulled it on to his lap, Jason sitting up and resting his chin on Nate's shoulder so that he could read the email as well.

**TO: John Doe, .**

**FROM: Mitchie Torres, .**

**SUBJECT: Re: Mitchie, it's Nate, you HAVE to open this!**

Nate…I read what you said, and I don't know how to respond…if someone's got Shane in such a bad place, why can't you just go to the police? If you made all of this up to make me feel like a fool, you win, because you've got me scared, but if you didn't, what can you do to prove to me that this is the truth? After what Shane said to me…I want to be sure, and I don't want to believe that what you're saying is true, because if it is, he's in a lot of trouble…but also, if it's true, I'm willing to wait for him as long as it takes…but Nate, please…don't play with me this way if this is all a joke, I know that I don't know you that well, but I don't think that you're like that. –Mitchie.

**TO: Mitchie Torres, .**

**FROM: John Doe, .**

**SUBJECT: Re: Mitchie, it's Nate, you HAVE to open this!**

Every single word that I typed was true. You know that I was missing, you know that I told everyone that I don't know what happened, but I do, and Shane saved my life…I owe him everything, and my way of starting to repay him is to be honest with you. Like you said, I wouldn't do anything horrible like lie to you, Mitchie. I would tell you in person, but that wouldn't be safe…the best proof that I can give you is my word, so I hope that's enough. He loves you, remember that. – Nate.

**o.o.o.o.o**

Nate hit send and moved the computer to Jason's night stand. "Now where were we?" he asked, smiling as he kissed Jason. Jason's arms wrapped around Nate and he pulled the younger boy on top of him as they tumbled down on to the mattress.


	13. Chapter 13

"I don't think I can do this…" Nate shuddered as Jason pulled up in front of the record label office. Shane was driving separately, and Nate and Jason were early for the meeting they had to discuss their new album. "I don't think that I can face these people…"

"You said you were fine…" Jason looked over at Nate, a mixture of worry and confusion on his face. He parked the car and put his hand on Nate's knee as they sad in the parking lot.

"I thought I was…but I know what they did and even though I'm alright, I didn't like being…well…you know." Nate flinched slightly and Jason unbuckled his seat belt, pulling him in to a tight hug.

"Baby, if you can't do this I'll take you home, tell them that you were sick and couldn't make it."

"No." Nate shook his head. "The longer that it takes for us to get this done, the longer it takes for Shane to be happy again and for us to be free of these bastards, we're finishing this." Nate took a deep breath. "I'll be fine as long as we don't get separated.

"They won't get us apart." Jason looked around to make sure that no one else was watching before he placed a soft, safe kiss on Nate's lips. "I'll stay with you and if anything seems at all suspicious, I'll get you out of there right away."

"I know." Nate nodded. "I trust you." A small smile flickered on to his face. "Let's just get this over with, alright?" Jason nodded and the two boys got out of the car and entered the building, where they waited for Shane, who entered a few minutes later looking distressed and scared despite his sharp outfit and well groomed hair.

"How are you holding up?" Jason asked, taking one look at Shane and realizing that for once, he was the most composed person in the band.

"I just want to be done with this shit," Shane snarled.

"Alright." Jason nodded. "Come on, let's just grab this bull by the horns and run as fast as we can until it's all over." Jason pulled his band mates in to a tight hug. "We can do this, remember, I'm here for both of you, ok? All we have to do is make a vow to write the damn songs the way they want them, record them, make them money, and then we're done…"

"What if they force us in to another contract?" Shane asked, eyes piercing Jason's.

"Um…" Jason paused. He hadn't thought of that. "They won't, ok? Just play it cool, we need to act like nothing's wrong and just breeze through this, alright? Shane…I don't know what to tell you, alright?" Jason hugged Shane briefly. "We're going to be alright."

"Connect Three?" the secret called. "Go on back, they're ready for you." The boys nodded and quietly walked in to the conference room.

"Hello boys!" Mr. Larson smiled and shook the hands of all three boys, just as though nothing at all had happened. "Sit down! We just have a little bit of time today and a lot of work to go over! I was thinking 15 tracks for the new album? How does that sound?"

"Sounds good." Jason nodded, looking between Nate and Shane for approval as they took seats on either side of him.

"So obviously, Play My Music will be the first single that we get out there, do you have anything else written?" Mr. Larson looked at the three boys curiously.

"Oh, yeah." Shane nodded and handed over a folder holding seven songs that the boy had written, each one more generic and pop-y than the last. "We have some more in the works if you like those, but they aren't finished yet, we wanted to get your approval on those ones before we went crazy with the other ones."

"Alright." Mr. Larson smiled. "I'll look over these and call you guys, we can set up a meeting to go over them some time next week?"

"Yeah, ok." Nate nodded, unable to make eye contact with Mr. Larson after their initial brief handshake. Jason longed to reach out and comfort him, but that was far too risky; if Mr. Larson knew what was going on between them he may react the same as he did with Shane and Mitchie, and that was the last thing that Jason wanted; to be pulled apart from Nate when they needed each other most.

"Oh, speaking of you, Nate, we want more of your beautiful voice on this album, so Shane, make sure he sings more." Mr. Larson looked seriously at the three boys, and Shane nodded, symbolizing that he would yield mic time to Nate; after all, the songs were bad no matter who sang them…but as long as it was _someone_ in Connect Three, they would sell faster than anything else on the market. "You boys really are the dream team." Mr. Larson chuckled slightly. "I'm so glad I signed you before anyone else discovered you. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first because you came together at a rock camp that had been…well…pretty much off the charts until you three made a name for it, but my skepticism was without cause." After taking looks at Shane and Nate, Jason could see that they, like him, wished for nothing more than to never have heard of Mr. Larson and his record label.

"Thank you sir." Jason nodded, speaking for the band.

"I'm also glad to see that Shane here is cooperating so well…well really all of you, but Shane seems to be holding back particularly well…I knew you boys were smart." He smirked. This was his way of reminding them not to step out of line. "Anyways, I'm sorry that our meeting today had to be so short…but I have a lot to do and you three have more songs to write! I'll see you next week." Mr. Larson stood, the three boys following suit, and he shook each boy's hand again.

"Thank you for meeting with us." Jason forced a grin before the boys turned and left. Once out of the building, Shane jumped in to his car without so much as a goodbye and sped off, and Nate collapsed, shaking slightly, in to Jason's arms.

_**A/N Alright, I'm going on strike...well a ministrike. DETAILS ON STRIKE: I saw the movie Meet Bill last night, and I am refusing to post anymore chapters on anything until five people see it, because Meet Bill is AMAZING and HILARIOUS! SO GO RENT IT! Also, though this isn't a contingency of the strike, go to iTunes and by the new single About A Girl by The Academy Is...**_


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you going to be ok?" Jason parked his car outside of Nate's house, but neither boy made any sort of motion to get out. Jason looked over at Nate, who was looking up ahead of him, breathing regularly, but looking a little shaken.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Nate nodded slightly. "I just…I just think that I need a little bit of time to myself, you know? I would invite you in, but I think that it might be a little…easier for me if I took a bit of time to just rest…Can I call you later?" Nate leaned over and put his head on Jason's chest lightly.

"Nate, baby…" Jason looked over at the boy resting on him and kissed the top of his curly haired head. "You can call me anytime you want, night, day…Sunday, Wednesday…you know that I love you; the only thing that matters to me is that you're happy and safe." Jason kissed Nate's forehead.

"I love you too." Nate reached around Jason's body and pulled him into an awkward, sideways hug. "I'm sorry that I can't just be normal again, I-"

"Nate, no one expects you to be the way that you were right away, especially not me…I know what happened, I can't expect you to just fall back in to place where you were, you were pretty riled up, and I completely respect that. I have absolutely no problem waiting for you."

"Jason, I love you so much…I just want to be able to give you absolutely everything that I have to offer, which includes my time, attention, and focus."

"Nate, Nate, Nate." Jason slipped his arm around the younger boy. "I don't need everything, I'm happy jus having your love, ok? Maybe later when things get better, I'll want…and get those other things, but I love you, and if you love me too than that's good enough for me." Jason smiled weakly at Nate as the younger boy lifted his head.

"I do love you, Jason, more than anything." Nate looked around, waited for a neighbor walking his dog to turn the corner before he placed his hands on Jason's cheeks and kissed him passionately. Jason smiled into the kiss, loving the way that Nate's lips felt against his.

"Will I be able to see you tonight?" Jason asked, pulling away from the kiss slowly, brushing his fingertips against Nate's lips as he did so.

"I think so." Nate nodded. "Like I said, I'm gonna take a little time to myself, but then later I don't think that I'll be able to stop myself from wanting to see you." Nate smiled at Jason. "So tonight you can come over, or I can come to your house…whatever works for me."

"As long as I get to see you." Jason smiled and kissed Nate again as the younger boy unbuckled his seatbelt. "Just call me when you're ready to get together."

"I will." Nate kissed Jason's cheek and slowly got out of the car. Jason watched Nate until he was safely inside before pulling away and heading back to his house. Nate walked up the stairs to his bedroom and flopped down on the bed. Something beneath him made a crackling noise, and he immediately sat up and reached under his pillow. He pulled out a large manila envelope and opened it, pulling out several sheets of paper. The first one was a typed note.

**Nate – We know what you tried to do, and we would much prefer that you be a good boy, alright? Stay away from Mitchie, even over the computer…if we can get into your room while you're sleeping, what makes you think we don't know exactly what's going down on your computer? Oh, and while we're on that list of things we know that you seemed to think we've missed…you and Jason…what a cute couple you two are, eh? Kissing when you think no one's watching, fucking when you think no one can see? It's all very stealthy, but Nate, we know…so we know that he's your weak point, and because he's part of the band, it would be a shame to have anything happen to him…but Nate, unlike you and Shane, he doesn't sing…do you know what that means, Nathan? It means that he's replaceable; any good guitarist…or even halfway decent, as long as he's good looking, guitarist, could take your beloved Jason's place if he were to be in an accident…the point of this all, Nate, is that if you're not careful, this threat becomes a reality.**

Nate shook as he read the note. He didn't like what it was implying…if anything happened to Jason, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He loved Jason so much, and this threat against him was more than enough to make him cooperate – he just felt fortunate that he wasn't being asked to break Jason's heart with brutal lies. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second as he pulled the note away from the other papers, not sure that he wanted to see what was on them. The second that he opened his eyes, he knew that he didn't. The first picture was that of Jason…in his room, sitting at his desk, in a rifle sight. In the second shot, he was sitting in his kitchen, again with the rifle sight. There were five more pictures of Jason inside of a rifle sight, and some of them were in places other than his house, meaning that he was being followed. Nate dropped the pictures on his bed, ran down the stairs, grabbed the car keys to his mother's Toyota, and sped as fast as he could towards Jason's house. When he got to the older boy's, he rang the doorbell repeatedly as fast as he could until Jason answered. "Nate?" Jason looked at the boy, who threw his arms around Jason's middle the second the door was opened. "Nate, why are you crying?"

"You're not replaceable, you're not…you're not!" Jason shut the door and then quickly wrapped his arms around Nate, leading him slowly over to the couch. "I'm sorry! I really am, Jason please… please don't be mad at me, you're NOT replaceable, they don't know…the don't understand…"

"Nate, Nate…" Jason stroked Nate's curls. "Nathan, I love you, I couldn't be mad at you…but I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"They know, Jason…they know everything…they know that I emailed Mitchie, they know that we're together…and they know that you're my breaking point."


	15. Chapter 15

"Breaking point? Nate…Nate…" Jason continued to stroke Nate's hair, and he kissed the top of Nate's head. "Nate, please…you have to slow down and tell me what's wrong, alright?"

"I…I…I…you…them…Jason, they're watching you!" Nate's words were separated by his choked sobs and Jason didn't understand what he was trying to say, but he didn't want to pressure Nate, so he just cradled him, kissing his forehead every so often, waiting for the boy to calm down.

"Nate, they're watching all of us…when you're ready, tell me what's wrong, please?" He looked into Nate's tear filled brown eyes and let out a soft sigh. "I love you so much…whatever happened to you, I'm so sorry." Jason pulled Nate in closer to his body, leaning back into the couch, trying to make them both more comfortable. Nate nodded and continued to shake while Jason just waited for him to regain at least some of his composure.

"Jason…they…they have a gun on you, they're…they're using you against me." Nate shuddered. "They found out that I emailed Mitchie and told her parts of the truth and…they've been watching us; they know about us…they know everything I think." Nate choked back a sob. "They told me that if I'm not a good boy they'll kill you because…because you're replaceable…because you're a guitarist and you don't sing, but that's bullshit Jason, BULLSHIT!" Nate yelled, frightening Jason slightly. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I just…it's not true and I don't know how they could say that about you." Nate shook his head before burying it back in the crook of Jason's arm.

"Nate…to them I am replaceable, guitarists are a dime a dozen." Jason rubbed Nate's back. "But don't worry about me, alright? I'm going to be ok…"

"NO!" Nate pulled away and looked at Jason, glaring at him. "DON'T say that! If something happens to you what do you think will happen to me? Who will hold me and tell me that it's going to be alright, even if it's not? Who's going to be there when I feel like everything's meaningless, who's going to be the one to kiss away my pain? I know that it's selfish, but Jason…if you die, so do I…"

"Don't say that Nate, it's not true…" Jason shook his head. "Not that it matters anyways, nothing's going to happen to me, so don't you worry, alright? I'm looking out for myself and you… right now I think that it's more Shane that has to be worried about…I'm afraid that he's going to do something stupid."

"This is going to sound awful…but Jason…as long as there's danger around you, I don't care what Shane does – they sent me pictures of you Jason, PICTURES of YOU in a RIFLE SIGHT! Do you have ANY idea how much that scares me? Knowing that at any second they just pull some trigger and I lose you…I LOVE you, I couldn't handle that!"

"It's alright Nate, it's alright! We'll just do what they say; wait for all of this to be over, alright? I know that you're vulnerable, especially right now, but we have to be strong, alright? All of us…for each other and for ourselves." Jason placed his hands on Nate's cheeks, brushing away a few of his tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I love you too." He leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on Nate's lips. Nate immediately relaxed his muscles and allowed himself to become engulfed in the kiss body and soul. "Stay here tonight," Jason whispered softly in Nate's ear as he pulled away from the kiss.

"Yes." Nate nodded and smiled, wiping away a few of his own tears. "God yes…" Nate pulled Jason in to a hug. "I'm so scared Jason…they're willing to kill for this…it's just money…it used to be about the music, but it's not anymore, not to them! God…If I'd known that it would put you in danger, I never…and I mean _never _would have wanted to sign to the label."

"I know Nate, I know." Jason smiled warmly at the shaken boy in his arms. "Please…try not to think about it, I don't like it when you're upset like this." Jason pressed his lips to Nate's forehead, but this time he didn't pull away right off, but let his warm lips linger on Nate's soft skin.

"I'm sorry." Nate gulped. "I'll try and calm down, I wish that I didn't get so worked up all of the time, but there's just so much to lose and almost nothing to gain." Nate shivered and Jason pulled a blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around both of their bodies.

"We're not going to lose anymore than we have to, and we do lose, we'll get back…like Mitchie." Jason slowly eased down on the couch so that he was in a lying down position with Nate cuddled in to him.

"What if they try to do that to us?" Nate looked at Jason worriedly.

"Do what to us?"

"What if they force us to hurt each other? I mean like…what if they tell us that we can't be together or they'll kill one of us? I don't think that I could handle that…it would fucking kill me."

"If they try to take you away from me I won't quit until each and every one of them is begging for their lives at my hands; I'm never letting you go." Jason brushed his lips against Nate's, trying to bring him as much comfort as possible.

"Jason…" Nate sighed. He didn't like it when Jason talked like that…making it sound like he was going to have to commit a crime in order to keep them together.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like violence, but Nate…if they try to pull us apart…" Jason trailed off and looked away. He didn't want to upset Nate, but he didn't want to lie to him either. "You know what? Don't worry about it, alright; it's not going to come to that." Nate nodded and put his forehead to Jason's. "I love you, Nathan Walker, more than anything in the world, and the second someone tries to take that away from me, they're going to be sorry."

"I hate that I can't tell everyone about us, then we'd have nothing to be afraid of."

"Tell them." Jason shrugged. "Why does it matter? If we sell less…wait a minute." Jason sat up slightly, causing Nate to fall forward a little bit. "If we came out as a couple…I mean about half of our fans would be mortified, right?" Nate nodded slowly. "So we'd sell less records, am I right?"

"Well probably, yeah…but-"

"The company wouldn't want a couple of openly gay boys on anymore, would they?" A slight smile crossed Jason's face. "They wouldn't be so sad to see us go."

"No, they'd just kill us for sabotaging ourselves." Nate sighed.

"Not if we came out anonymously…" Jason grinned. "All that we have to do is set up my dad's video camera outside of our window, kiss a few times and send the tape in to the news anonymously. As long as we-"

"They would know." Nate shook his head. "They're watching us."

"Fuck." Jason sighed and bit his bottom lip. "Nate, are you prepared to face the consequences if we were to come out?"

"Yes." Nate nodded without hesitating.

"Alright. Come with me."


	16. Chapter 16

Jason guided Nate two blocks over to a local grocery store that both boys frequently shopped at. They began walking down the aisle, hearts beating like crazy as they grew closer to their actions. "Are you ready?" Jason asked, whispering as he stopped Nate in the middle of the frozen food section – the busiest aisle of that particular supermarket on that particular day.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Nate nodded and took a deep breath. Jason smiled at him and moved closer to the younger boy, both of them looking nervous.

"I love you," Jason whispered just before putting his hand on the back of Nate's neck and pulled Nate towards him, kissing him softly on the lips. At first, both boys were cautious with the kiss, but as it progressed, Jason's arms wrapped around Nate's waist, holding him closer as the kiss deepened. Jason pressed Nate's back up against the door to the frozen dinner shelves while Nate ran his fingers through Jason's hair. People around them started to notice, but Nate and Jason didn't stop or slow down. Jason's body pressed against Nate's and he ran his hand down Nate's side, feeling the boy's muscles through his t-shirt. Jason smiled into the kiss as he heard the people around them begin to comment.

"Oh my god…" one woman started. "Is that…that's those boys from Connect 3! My daughter has posters of the curly haired one in her bedroom!" She sounded shocked, and slightly horrified.

"Someone get those boys off of each other!" one man said. "They're teen idols! They shouldn't be doing that in public!" that comment was followed by several others, some of a similar nature, some different.

"Hey…why don't you just leave them alone? If they want to make out, that's their choice! Maybe their in love, did you ever think of that?" Some girl asked. "So what if they're celebrities? So what if they're both guys? Someone leave them alone!" That comment was followed by several cameras flashing, and the boys knew that what they wanted was happening. Jason pulled away from Nate, grabbed his hand, and began to run through the people, the younger boy in tow.

"Are you ok?" Jason asked as he slammed and locked his front door. Nate, who was slightly out of breath from running, just nodded yes in response to Jason's question. "Baby, I love you…" Jason put his hand on Nick's slightly reddened cheek, caressing the soft skin for a second before taking Nate's hand again and leading him upstairs. "It's only a matter of time until it's public…"

"What if this backfires Jason?" Nate looked worried as he sat down on Jason's bed. "What if they decide that I didn't follow their rules? What if they kill you? What if-"

"Nate, Nate, Nate…" Jason sat down beside the younger boy and rubbed Nate's back gently. "It's going to be alright, that's not going to happen." Jason kissed Nate softly. "What we did is going to have an impact, but it's not going to be fatal…don't worry."

"Can I still stay the night here?" Nate asked, looking hopefully at Jason.

"Absolutely." Jason smiled and twisted one of Nate's ringlets around his finger.

"I'm glad that we did that." Nate smiled, and leaned in to kiss Jason, but they were interrupted by the sound of Jason's phone ringing.

"Hello?" Jason answered.

"Is Nate there?" his mother asked on the other end.

"Yeah…"

"He has to go home…now." Her voice turned harsh, and Jason's breath hitched.

"Why?"

"Because I will not have my son fucking the boy down the street! You're not gay Jason! Stop being such an attention whore!"

"What if I am mom? What if I love Nate?" Jason asked, hurt filling his voice.

"That's just no possible! NO son of mine is gay."

"Then I'm not your son." Jason hung up, and turned to Nate, breathing heavily. "We're out." Just as Nate was nodding, the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"JASON! WHAT THE FUCK?" Shane yelled into the phone. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?! GOING AT IT LIKE THAT IN PUBLIC?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELVES KILLED?!"

"Shane it's ok…it's for you too…" Jason sighed. "I'll explain it to you later, I promise…I just…my mom's on the other line…I think she's trying to kick me out of the house…" Jason hung up and switched back to his mother. "What mom?"

"SEND THE LITTLE FAG HOME!" his mother screamed into the phone.

"Don't call him that!" Jason yelled. "And I'm not kicking him out, I love him and if he leaves, I'm out of here too…and weren't you and dad JUST fighting over me?"

"We'll talk about this when I get home tomorrow!" With that, his mother hung up.

"Are you ok?" Nate looked at Jason.

"She called you a fag…" Jason put his hand on Nate's shoulder. "I'm sorry that she's such a bitch."

"It's alright…look…if you ever need a place to stay…my mom already knows that I'm gay and I have the slight feeling that she might know about us…at any rate, if you can't handle it here anymore, my door's always open."

"I know." Jason nodded and shut off his phone so that no one else could call him. "Come here." He held out his arms as he lay down on the bed. "I'm fucking tired…it's been too long of a day…I don't care that it's early…"

"I'm tired too." Nate yawned and fell into Jason's arms. "Me too." Nate kissed Jason's cheek softly. "You're not alone."

"No." Jason shook his head. "I never am, I have you." He reached over, shut his light off, turned down the covers, and pulled Nate beneath him, holding the boy tight in his arms as he closed his eyes. Nate snuggled in to Jason's warm body, getting as close as possible, not wanting to allow even the faintest possibility of him slipping away during the night. "As long as I have you, I'm not alone."

"You'll always have me," Nate whispered.

"Then I'll never be alone."


	17. Chapter 17

Jason awoke in the middle of the night and looked over at the clock. He let out a soft sigh, seeing that it was only just after three in the morning, but as he was lying down again next to Nate to go back to sleep, he heard a faint creaking sound. He froze, remaining as silent as possible, listening, waiting until he heard it again. He looked worriedly over at Nate, and saw that the younger boy was still fast asleep, breathing softly. Nate looked so peaceful, and Jason didn't want to wake him, but there shouldn't be anyone else in the house…it should have been just them. He put his hand over Nate's mouth and shook him awake gently. Nate's eyes flew open and he looked up at Jason in terror, letting out a muffled sigh of relief as he realized that it was just Jason. "Someone's in the house," Jason whispered quietly, standing slowly and taking his hand away from Nate's mouth. The look of fear returned to Nate's eyes as he stood, following Jason's lead. Jason's eyes darted around the room, looking for some sort of weapon to use in their defense if they were attacked.

"Is there any chance that one of your parents came home early?" Nate looked up at Jason, whispering as quietly as possible. Jason shook his head. His father hadn't been living in the house for several days now, and his mother was on a business trip in the next town over, with a conference early the next morning. Nate held tightly to the older boy's hand, though at this point, it offered very little comfort. Jason bit his bottom lip and opened his desk drawer as quietly as he could, taking out the pocket knife that he had been given for his birthday years ago; something that he had never really thought about since or used before. He began to look around the room, trying to find a safe place to hide, but there was nowhere that wouldn't be obvious…if these people knew that they were home, which they most certainly did, then the only safe place was outside of the house, and his windows didn't open.

"They may not know that you're here." Jason whispered, pulling Nate towards the closet. He gently pushed Nate towards it, but Nate didn't move. "Get in!" Jason whispered hurriedly. Nate looked at the fear in Jason's eyes, and nodded. He knew that Jason wasn't going to hide with him, it wouldn't be safe. He sighed slightly, squeezed Jason's hand, walked into the closet and sat down. Jason closed the door, but he didn't shut it all the way to make things less suspicious. Jason then quietly rushed back over to the bed, lay down, and shut his eyes to pretend that he was still sleeping. He tried to keep his breathing regular as he heard his door open. Someone entered his room, but he kept his eyes shut, hoping that they would leave him alone, but convinced that they would hurt him.

"Wake up, Jason." He felt rough hands on his shoulder, and he pretended as though he had just awoken. He sat up slowly, unable to hide his fear. He reached for the knife, which he had left on the nightstand, but he felt something press against his forehead. "Don't," he heard the cocking of a gun as Mr. Larson himself pulled Jason to his feet.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

"We want you to know that we mean business, you little fuck; you can't just go around in public making out with your band mates…not if it's another guy, it's bad for business." Jason gulped.

"So this is about the label?" Jason spoke a little louder, so that Nate would know what was going on. "You never said that we couldn't do that."

"I thought that it was a given." Mr. Larson dragged Jason to the center of the room.

"Why did you come yourself then?" Jason asked.

"I was sick you little jerk offs not getting my message, I decided to deliver it on my own. Now ask your little friend to join us." Nate froze from where he was sitting in the closet.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Jason sounded convincing, but Mr. Larson just pressed the gun harder into his forehead.

"You and I both know that Nate's around here somewhere, he came in and never left." Mr. Larson turned around, surveying the room, pulling Jason with him as he moved. "Come out Nathan, I've got Jason here, and I'll kill him if you don't show yourself." That was all that Nate needed. He stood up and exited the closet. "Ah, now we're all here." Mr. Larson smiled. "Nathan, would you be so kind as to turn on the light?" Nate nodded and walked over to the light switch, turning it on with a shaky hand. "So now you decide to follow directions?" Mr. Larson laughed slightly, and threw Jason at Nate, causing them both to stumble backwards. The second they were stable, Jason put his arm around Nate, holding him close. "You two really are sweet…you know that?" he smirked and pointed the gun towards them. "Nathan, tie up your little boyfriend."

"What?" Nate looked up at Mr. Larson in shock.

"Tie him up, don't make me say it again or I'll shoot him, got it?" Mr. Larson moved the gun on to Jason. "I know you're smarter than that, Nathan."

"Fine, fine…" Nate shuddered. "What am I supposed to tie him up with?"

"Oh find something!" Mr. Larson rolled his eyes.

"I have ties in the closet," Jason whispered. "Use those." Nate nodded and gulped back tears as he picked up a couple of ties.

"Hands behind his back, tie him tightly," Mr. Larson instructed. Nate sighed and gently pulled Jason's arms behind his back. He wrapped the tie twice around Jason's wrist before starting to tie the knot.

"Tighter," Jason said. He didn't want to get Nate in trouble and he knew that the knot wasn't tight enough. Nate pulled the restraint tighter, tying it as tightly as he could and trying not to cry.

"Good." Mr. Larson smirked as Nate finished. "Now Jason, walk over to that chair." He gestured towards the chair that sat at Jason's desk. Jason did as he was instructed, Nate helping him get his arms around the back of the chair. "Tie him to the chair, Nathan." Nate squeezed his eyes shut for a second before grabbing a second tie and wrapping it around Jason's stomach, tying him tightly to the back of the chair. Mr. Larson walked towards the boys, the gun still aimed at Jason. He grabbed Nate's upper arm and pulled him away from Jason.

"Let him go!" Jason called, but Mr. Larson just put the gun to Nate's throat.

"I wouldn't talk to me like that," Mr. Larson shook his head. "Not if you really care about Nathan." Jason gulped, but fell silent. "Don't fret, we'll be right back." He pulled Nate from the room, the gun still jammed into his throat.


	18. Chapter 18

"What are you going to do with me?" Nate asked as he was yanked into the hallway. Fear laced his voice; he was afraid that he would be taken away from Jason again, that he would be locked up alone and terrified just like the last time, and he wasn't ready for that.

"Oh, I just didn't want to leave you alone with him; giving you time to untie him would be bad for everyone." Mr. Larson stopped outside of Jason's parent's room…or what was now Jason's mom's room, and pushed Nate inside. "Grab that chair," he gestured towards the chair that sat at the desk. Nate nodded and went over, picking up the chair. "Don't do anything that you'll regret, alright?" Mr. Larson grinned, and Nate suppressed a sigh; how did this guy know what he was thinking? "Walk, back to Jason's room, yeah?" Mr. Larson kept the gun on Nate as he slowly made his way down the hallway, still carrying the chair. "Stop." Mr. Larson stopped Nate just outside of Jason's door. "Put the chair down." Nate did so, and Mr. Larson approached him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him closer. "You really don't listen, you know that?" Mr. Larson whispered. "I gave you fair warning, boy, and what did you do? You turned around and decided to take your beloved little boyfriend for a joyride at the grocery store." Mr. Larson's grip tightened on Nate's arm.

"It wasn't to defy you!" Nate tried to pull away from the painful grasp, but he was nowhere near strong enough to get away. "It just happened! When you love someone, sometimes you just can't…" he trailed off, biting his bottom lip. "Oh what would you know about it anyways? No one would love you." Nate glared at Mr. Larson, a ferocity in his eyes and voice that even he didn't understand.

"You shouldn't have said that." Mr. Larson shook his head and slammed the butt of the gun into Nate's face, striking him in the jaw. Nate's hand flew to his cheek as he attempted to stabilize himself from the blow. He felt hot blood on his cheek, and pain shot through him, but he didn't care about that, not at this point – he was too busy worrying about the effects that his comments might have on Jason. "You're always breaking my rules, boy, and I won't have anymore of it." Mr. Larson shook his head and shoved Nate forward. "Pick the chair up and set it down facing Jason." Nate nodded and did as he was told, the gun pressed to the back of his neck.

"Jesus…Nate, what happened?!" Jason looked worriedly at Nate, noticing the injury on his face.

"It's nothing." Nate shook his head and set the chair down. "It's just the result of a little argument, my own fault." He shrugged, but Jason's worry did not dissipate.

"Have a seat, Nathan." Mr. Larson smirked and put his hand on Nate's shoulder, forcing him down into the chair so that the two boys were facing each other.

"Don't touch him," Jason spat, struggling slightly as Mr. Larson shoved Nate down.

"Oh, and what are you doing to do about it?" Mr. Larson pointed the gun at Nate's head, and Jason fell silent. "That's what I thought…now Nathan, don't move or I'll shoot him, got it?" Nate nodded and gulped, waiting while Mr. Larson ransacked Jason's closet.

"It's going to be alright," Jason whispered, looking at Nate.

"No, it's not." Nate shook his head.

"Don't say that."

"We're going to die…" Nate licked his lips, looking sorrowfully at Jason. "I wanted more time with you, Jace…I-"

"Don't talk like that Nate!" Jason sighed and Mr. Larson watched back over to them, got to his knees, and began to tie Nick's wrists to the arms of the chair with two more of Jason's ties.

"I love you," Nate whispered, one tear beginning to roll slowly down his cheek as Mr. Larson moved to tie Nate's ankles to the chair.

"I love you too, I-"

"Enough of this lovely dovey crap!" Mr. Larson stood up and grabbed a white t-shirt from the stack of things that he had brought from Jason's closet. "You guys disgust me," he snarled as he ripped a thick strip of the t-shirt and tying a large knot in the center of the strip. He then took the strip, forced the knotted part into Nate's mouth, and tight it tightly around the back of his head, silencing the younger boy. "How about you, Jason?" Mr. Larson took the shirt in his hands again, prepared to tear another strip. "Are you in need of…aided silence?" Jason shook his head, looking down away from Nate, unable to bear the sight of the boy that he loved bound, gagged, and terrified…again. "There's a good boy." Mr. Larson snickered and moved to stand in the three or so foot area between the two chairs. "So…you boys think that you can pull shit like this?" He asked. Nate gave no sign of answering, and Jason just shook his head. "You do know that one of you has to pay for what happened today, right? We can't keep you signed on, not if you're going to go around groping each other in public…the label's made the decision to drop you, so we're out a serious chunk of change…and that's going to be on one of you, now who should it be?" Nate struggled against his bonds, trying to push the gag from his mouth long enough to tell Mr. Larson to collect his debt from him.

"Me," Jason spoke without hesitation. "It was my idea." He hung his head. "I wanted to show the world how much I loved Nate; it was careless, I didn't think…but it was my mistake and I should be the one to pay for it."

"MMMMM!" Nate shook his head rapidly, still trying to get Mr. Larson's attention.

"Yeah? Hmm…" Mr. Larson tapped his chin, allowing the gun to hang at his side. "Because you know…Nathan here was the one who got the warning, he knew what would happen if he fucked up, and it's pretty clear that you didn't force yourself on him, he wanted it, didn't you, whore?" Mr. Larson grabbed Nate by his curls, pulling the younger boy's head upwards. Nate just nodded yes and tried to blink back more tears. "That's what I thought." Mr. Larson released Nate's hair and turned back to Jason. "I think that Nate should be the one to pay." Mr. Larson smirked as he raised the gun, pressing it between Jason's eyes. "He can watch the love of his life die right here, right now, and know that it was entirely his fault."


	19. Chapter 19

"Hello, police? This is Shane Grey, look, I'm at 5572 NE Sycamore, and there's something seriously wrong…" Shane gulped into his cell phone. What was he doing over at Jason's house at 4 in the morning? Well he had been awoken at 2:00 by his phone. When he answered, he found himself being reprimanded by Mr. Larson for allowing his friends to do something so incredibly stupid. He had assured Mr. Larson that he had nothing to do with it, but the man had hung up on him almost immediately, and he had been trying to get a hold of Jason and Nate for the last hour to give them a heads up or see if they had been getting any threats, and neither of them have been texting or calling back, let alone picking up the phone, so, unable to sleep, Shane had walked over there only to find the door open, the glass on the panel broken, showing signs of forced entry,

"What are the signs that something is wrong, sir?" The police asked Shane, who sighed indignantly. Why the police always take so long to deal with problems when something was wrong?!

"I've been trying to get a hold of my friend all night, he always answers his phone, and he wasn't so I came over, and there is not only a strange car parked in front of his house, but the door is open and the glass on the door is broken like someone busted it open, reached in and unlocked the door…I think that's a pretty valid sign that something is wrong!" Shane whispered as angrily as he could.

"Alright sir, we'll be there quickly, don't go inside and don't make any noise, if there is someone in the house, then we don't want to risk your friend's safety, do you understand?" The police sounded sincere, so Shane nodded.

"Yes sit, I'll wait right out at the front." With that, he hung up, waiting for what seemed like forever for the police to came. When the police car pulled up quietly, he went over to it immediately.

"You Shane?" One of the two men in the car asked.

"Yes." Shane nodded his head. "Look, please…make sure that everything's alright…I don't know what the situation is, but I'm sure that it's something big, we've been having some bad luck recently…" Shane trailed off, looking at his feet.

"My god, you're the singer of the pop band that's been getting all of that bad press!" The second police man came out of the car and scoffed at Shane.

"Yes, I am…" Shane nodded. "And the other two members are inside of this house, possible in a lot of trouble, so please…just help them!"

"Wait," the second police man smiled. "You mean the two who were making out in the supermarket today? My daughter went ballistic when she saw that video! She's in love with the curly haired one…and-"  
"Sir, with all due respect, I think that this is a more pressing matter!" Shane looked desperately at both policemen.

"Lawrence, I agree with the kid," the first police officer nodded. "I'm going to radio for back up just in case and come up with some sort of tactical formation, if there are kids in there with someone who is potentially dangerous then we want to get them out alive." Shane nodded that he understood, but his heart was beating as quickly as it could; he was terrified that the label was punishing his friends for their public display of affection. The first officer called in for backup and opened the trunk of his car, pulling out some things that Shane didn't recognize and consulting with his partner. Shane stood there, leaning up against the side of the black and white car, biting nervously at the inside of his cheek – the suspense was killing him. He wanted, no, needed to know that his friends were alright, and there was no one who could tell him. The wait seemed like forever…again. He knew that it was only minutes probably, but it seemed like he had been resting against the side of that car for an eternity, maybe longer.

"Well?" Shane looked expectantly at the police officers as they walked back over to him.

"When the back-up arrives, which should be about ten minutes, we have a plan – we're going to go in, do a routine search in the case of a hostage situation, and you're not to go anywhere near the premises, alright?" Shane nodded, licking his lips. He didn't like the sound of that…Hostage Situation…didn't the hostages always get shot in those? He gulped. He needed Jason and Nate, despite the fact that he had yelled at them earlier for their little stunt, he loved them both in that way that you could only love a best friend, and there was no way that he would be able to handle losing them both, especially not after losing Mitchie…He waited with the two officers silently, not wanting any part of a conversation that could be overheard by whoever was in Jason's house. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the thigh of his tight jeans, trying as hard as he could to redirect his nervousness to something else, but it was impossible. Again, the wait was incredibly difficult…it seemed like it was taking too long for these back up cars to show up, and Jason was starting to lose his patience.

"Look, kid…" The second officer looked at Shane. "Maybe you should go home and wait with your family while we handle this…"

"NO!" Shane shook his head. "I- what the hell was that?" He looked nervously at the house as he heard a crash. After a moment of hesitiation, he began to move from the car to the house.

"Kid, stop! What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry," Shane shook his head. "But Jason and Nate…they're all that I have left, I can't lose them." With that, he darted through the open door.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N This is being posted early because I having a friend over and probably will not be able to post tomorrow!**_

Shane snuck through the house as quietly as possible, checking every room for his friends and whoever had broken in. In the living room, he had grabbed one of Jason's old soccer trophies from the mantle…just in case he ended up needing a way to defend himself. There was no one in the kitchen, den, TV room, computer room, or any other room on the first floor, so Shane decided to venture upstairs, slightly hesitant to venture to the dark basement. His hands shook with fear and apprehension as he climbed the stairs as quietly as possible, shoes left downstairs to avoid added noise. He crept quietly down the hallway, freezing when he heard a noise. He stopped outside of Jason's bedroom and peeked inside…what he saw made his heard stop. Nate lay on the floor, tied to a chair…the falling of which was the crash he had heard, crying as loudly as he could with the fabric through his mouth. Jason was sitting, also tied to the chair, with a gun to his head, looking panicked; nervous. Mr. Larson stood, holding the gun, smirking. "So, you don't want him to die just yet?" Mr. Larson took the gun away from Jason and addressed Nate, righting the chair so that Nate was again facing Jason.

"MMMMM!" Nate shook his head rapidly, fighting to speak through his gag. His eyes were still filling with tears that couldn't be helped as he looked across the space to Jason, who, while not crying, was breathing deeply, terrified of what was going to happen.

"It's going to be ok, Nate…" he whispered. "Whatever happens to me will happen…just…be alright with, ok? Move on…please. Be happy with or without me, I want you to." Again, Nate shook his head, more tears spilling from his eyes.

"Alright, let's make this a little more fun…" Mr. Larson chuckled. "Why don't play a little Russian Roulette?" Mr. Larson emptied all but one of the bullets from his gun and stood beside Nate, though he pointed the gun across the area at Jason. "He could die at the pull of a trigger, or he could live…personally, I'm stoked to find out, what about you?" Nate shook his head, trying to choke back some of the tears that drenched the gag in his mouth. "Then the chips shall fall where they may." Mr. Larson cocked the gun.

"Let them," Jason spoke with all of the courage and menace that he could muster. His eyes focused on Nate, trying to put as much love and compassion in to one gaze as he could with a partially loaded fun pointed at him. "I love you, Nathan, and I always will." He braced himself for the shot…but it never came. Shane chose that moment to enter, quietly sneaking up behind Mr. Larson, heart pounding, trophy raised. Mr. Larson heard Shane behind him and whirled around to protect himself, but it was too late, Shane had already cracked the fake gold statuette over the man's head, causing him to fall unconscious to the ground.

"You don't get to do this kind of shit, you fucker, not to my friends." Shane shook his head and turned to Jason. "Are you alright?" he moved to untie him, but Jason shook his head.

"Help Nate first." Shane nodded and moved to Nate, pulling the gag from the younger boy's mouth.

"It's ok, Nate…" Shane gently untied his wrists, then his ankles. "It's alright, you're safe now."

"I know." Nate nodded and threw his arms around Shane the second he was free. "Thank you so much!" The power of Nate's affection nearly knocked Shane to the ground.

"You're welcome…" He gently pushed Nate away so that he could untie Jason.

"Shane," Jason too pulled Shane in to a hug the second that he was free. "You saved my life…"

"You sound surprised." Shane smiled, returning Jason's embrace. Nate joined in the hug, but after a few seconds, Shane pulled away. "Come on you two, I know that you want to, just get it over with." Nate and Jason nodded and Nate pulled Jason into a deep, passionate kiss, still crying when they pulled away.

"I love you," Nate whispered as they parted. "I've never been so scared in my life." He turned to Shane. "Shane, we're gonna fix you and Mitchie…I promise…you just…you risked your life for us, Shane." Nate and Jason welcomed Shane back into the hug. By the time the police got into the room, they found the three boys sitting on the floor, Shane holding Jason and Nate, who were both crying now, and shaking violently. The reality of how close death had been was beginning to hit Jason, and his body wasn't taking it well. Nate was holding Jason's hand tightly, and Shane had his arms around both of them.

"Are you boys alright?" One of the officers asked, approaching the teens.

"Look what your hesitancy did," Shane spat, standing slowly, leaving Jason and Nate to hold each other. "HE ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE!" Shane gestured at Jason, and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the cop. "YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?!"

"It didn't happen," the officer pointed out.

"No, because I panicked and ran in here! IT WOULD HAVE IF YOU HAD SUCCEEDED IN STOPPING ME! WHAT KIND OF OFFICER GAMBLES WITH THE LIVES OF TEENAGERS?!"

"Shane…" Jason and Nate got to their feet and Jason put his hand on Shane's shoulder. "Shane, calm down, it's alright…"

"He's right." Nate nodded. "Jason's alive, that's what's important, it's not worth the energy to yell about it…if you look at it this way, we're safe now, they can't hurt us anymore, Mr. Larson can't touch us…" Nate gestured to where Mr. Larson, barely conscious, was being hauled off.

"Fine." Shane nodded. "Come on, let's go back to my place, I don't know about you guys, but I'm fucking wiped."

"I'm afraid that you boys can't do that, you have to come down to the station for question immediately." The officer shook his head.

"Look, pal…" Shane sighed. "I'm fucking exhausted, Jason here had a loaded gun in his face, Nate got to watch as some fuck tried to shoot his boyfriend, and we all need a little rest. We'll come down at a reasonable hour and answer everything, but for now, we're leaving." Shane gently grabbed Nate and Jason, pulling them from Jason's house, towards his car, but he froze as his convertible came in to sight.


	21. Chapter 21

"Shane, are you-" Jason stopped short as he looked at the car and his attitude totally changed. "GO!" He shoved Shane forward, but Shane was still frozen in shock. Mitchie was leaning against his car, looking worried, wearing her pajamas. "You have to go to her…" Jason pushed Shane again, and Shane snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

"Mitchie…" Shane walked up to her and ran his hand through his hair.

"God, are you alright?" Mitchie walked towards him and pulled him into a hug. Shane didn't say anything, he just returned the embrace, holding her tightly. "One of my friends NEVER sleeps and she was watching the news and someone phoned in saying that Connect Three was being held hostage over here, and I wasn't sure what to do, so I…I borrowed mom's catering van and…I just wanted to make sure that you were alright…" She trailed off and pulled away from the hug.

"After what I did to you?" Shane looked at her, shocked.

"Being horrible to me doesn't make me care about you any less," Mitchie sighed. "It just makes me want to…and just the thought of something like that happening to you…" Mitchie trailed off. "It made me realize that Nate was telling the truth."

"Nate was telling the truth about what?"

"You didn't want to say those things, did you." She didn't phrase it as a question, just a solid statement. "You didn't want to break up with me…someone forced you to." Shane nodded, confused as to how she knew this and what Nate had to do with it. "The same people who were holding you tonight?" Shane nodded again.

"But how did you-"

"You have loyal friends." She gestured to Nate and Jason, who were holding hands a few feet away, shaking quietly. "Nate sent me a few emails saying that someone was trying to hurt you guys and that it wasn't your fault, you had to break up with me to save Nate's life."

"I told them not to do that…" Shane sighed.

"Why?"

"For the same reason that they shouldn't have made out in public, it was a risk to everything…to them, to me…to you." Shane sighed. "I mean all of what happened tonight was because Jason kissed Nate in the supermarket."

"What?!" Mitchie looked shocked. "You were held hostage because too people expressed their feelings?"

"There's no freedom with this label that we're on." Shane shook his head. "And technically, I wasn't involved in this initially…" Mitchie looked at him, confused. "Look, I have to get Jason and Nate somewhere comfortable, come with us and I'll explain everything once we're back at my house."

"Alright." Mitchie nodded and moved so that there was room for Shane to unlock the car. He already had the top of; this wasn't the right kind of time to go zooming about with the wind in their hair. Jason and Nate immediately took the back seat, staying huddled as close together as they could; the crying had stopped but they were nowhere near unshaken. Mitchie took the passenger's seat, deciding to get the catering van later, and Shane drove. The ride was silent, only the occasional post-cry sniffles from the back seat. When they reached Shane's house, they pushed past his mother's question and up to his bedroom.

"You guys take the bed," he gestured to Shane and Nate.

"No, we-" Jason tried to protest, but Shane interrupted.

"Take the fucking bed, please? Just do it…you've been through a lot, if you don't I'm sleeping on the floor anyways."

"Fine…" Jason sighed. "Thank you." He pulled Nate gently on to the bed so that they were sitting side by side.

"I'm going to take Mitchie to the guest room, maybe explain a little bit about what happened…if you need me or really anything at all, just come in and let me know, alright?" Jason and Nate nodded, and Shane took Mitchie's hand, leading her towards an empty room across the hall. "Do you want to know what happened tonight?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Alright…so I got a warning call from the label early this morning saying that we weren't allowed to pull this kind of shit…so once the call ended, I tried calling both Jason and Nate to see if either of them had been threatened or warned, only neither of them picked up, which for Jason, is kind of weird, as long as he's not incapacitated, he answers his phone…so I called a few more times and still, neither of them answered. I was a little scared, so I went to go check on Nate, only he wasn't there, so I went to Jason's and the fucking door was open, so I called the police and they came and they were making a plan, but I heard a crash and I couldn't handle losing them so I went into the house and I went up to Jason's room and Jason and Nate were both tied to chairs and the CEO of the label had a fucking gun and he was playing Russian Roulette with Jason's life and Nate was in hysterics and I don't really know where I found the courage to do anything at all, but I hit him over the head with one of Jason's soccer trophies and THEN the police FINALLY came and…and…I'm sorry…" Shane gulped and looked up at Mitchie.

"Sorry? Shane, you're a hero." Mitchie smiled softly and squeezed Shane's hand. "You saved Jason's life."

"I know, and fuck…he sounded _surprised _about it! As though he had expected me to just let him die or something! I would never do that…never…" Shane shook his head. "I mean I haven't been all there for them since…since I had to break up with you, but I didn't know that they thought I didn't care about them anymore!"

"Shane, Shane…" Mitchie rubbed his back gently. "I'm sure they didn't think that you didn't care, they probably just didn't expect you to act the way you did in that moment…maybe Jason couldn't see himself being as brave…"

"No." Shane shook his head. "He could have done it for Nate…I just don't think that he could have done it for me…" Shane sighed.

"Are they in love?" Mitchie asked.

"Oh my god yes." Shane nodded. "They're so in love that it's almost disgusting, but they're so perfect for each other that it's so fucking hard to be jealous of what they have because I know that I would be heartbroken if they broke up…I dunno, call me crazy, but I'd like to have a love like theirs."

"Why would anyone call that crazy?"

"I dunno…because they're two guys, and usually two guys aren't the demographic for flawless love." Shane sighed.

"I don't think you're crazy…well, not for that. Running into a building containing certain danger and possible death, maybe…but you did for the right reasons Shane, and that was really, really brave." Mitchie leaned over and kissed Shane on the cheek.

"You know," Shane sighed. "I don't know if this is all over, I don't know if putting Mr. Larson away is the end of trouble from the record label, but if it is…could you find it in you take me back?" Shane looked seriously at Mitchie, who just smiled and kissed him softly.

"Of course I would."

**_A/N I know, this chapter was kind of filler fluff, but people had been asking for Shane/Mitchie, so I threw a tiny bone..._****_Also, if you have any interest, I am writing a Gabe Saporta/William Beckett CHAPTER fanfiction on my fanfiction blog, the link for the blog is at the top of my profile, I would REALLY love it if some people went to go check that out, but uh...you don't have to! If you have trouble getting to it, let me know!_**


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